on the outs

An independent feature that chronicles the lives of three teenage girls in Jersey City who are involved with crack cocaine, ON THE OUTS does not shy away from the hard issues involved. Between the ages of 15 and 17, Oz (Judy Marte) is a street dealer whose mom is a recovering junkie, Marisol (Paola Mendoza) is an unemployed crack addict struggling to feed her infant daughter, and Suzette (Anny Mariano) is pregnant by her homeless, crack-dealer boyfriend (Henri Marteau). All three of the girls end up in juvenile detention, and from there their lives only get harder.

Shot in a bright, color-saturated palette, with great handheld camerawork (reminiscent of early Scorcese or Nick Gomez's LAWS OF GRAVITY), this film rings with authenticity. The script, developed by Lori Silverbush, is terse and realistic, drawing on improv workshops that Silverbush held with inner-city teens who shared their actual stories. Of all the amazing performances from the actors, Marte's (RAISING VICTOR VARGAS) is the most particularly memorable and charismatic. Filmed on location throughout Jersey City, including shots at the juvenile detention center, this is an urgently important tale told with heartrending honesty, frankness, intelligence, humor, and compassion.