Doyle Simms grows up across the Hudson from NYC and flees his toxic family to attend a film program there. After a bumpy first year he returns more determined than ever to become a storyteller and figure out his place. Financial setbacks force Doyle to find creative "rent-controlled living" and begin a dual life living out of Penn Station while going to school. We follow Doyle over his college years as he begins to build relationships with several colorful characters such as Saul, a homeless book dealer who shows him the ropes and his own brand of street philosophy, and Allyson, a beautiful, struggling actress he carefully begins to pursue and fall for. Doyle begins to find a weird balance and begin to build a home, but the pressure of maintaining his worlds begins to crack the façade and he's forced to confront his past family demons and reconcile the person he wants to be with the person he is.
Acting
Ron Brice's Saul steals every scene with weathered wisdom.
Production
Authentic Penn Station guerrilla filmmaking on shoestring budget.
Writing
Dialogue that actually sounds like broke film students talking.
Director
David Spaltro
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Director David Spaltro actually lived in Penn Station while attending NYU film school, making this barely fictionalized autobiography.
Shot for roughly $75,000, it represents the last gasp of true micro-budget NYC indie cinema before streaming platforms changed everything.
US
