“A seat-of-the-pants documentary, with a homemade style and a fractured soul. This film possesses a strain of raw truth that Harmony Korine only dreams about.” - John Anderson, Newsday
STANDING BY YOURSELF
CREDITS //
Directed & Edited by: Josh Koury Crew: Gerald Lewis, Myles Kane, Jeremy Berger, & Cris Moris
Original Score: Stan Oh Starring: Adam Koury, Josh Siegfried, Helen Koury, Richard Koury Jr, and Brandon Shorey.
Released in 2002 – 56 mins.
SYNOPSIS //
“This astounding documentary puts reality TV to shame and reminds us of just how unreal that prefabricated situation-based dreck really is. STANDING BY YOURSELF tracks the movements and daily machinations of a group of outcast friends in their strip-mall New York State hometown. Using everything from closely mic-ed subjects to infrared video STANDING BY YOURSELF gets uncomfortably close to its subjects as they get drunk and high, squander money, rip-off their parents, and get in trouble with pretty much everyone in their paths as a conduit to simply having a good time. And yet, as we discover, these kids are smarter than their actions would let on… Simultaneously devastating and hilarious, the film manages to capture the daily rituals and mundanities of life in such engrossing proximity that everything becomes drama. Disturbing for its unabashed honesty, our cast of characters both love and despise each other, their very actions acknowledging the pressures inherent in a tightly bonded peer group. The fact that the filmmakers family is integral to this slice of life takes us that much closer to it all.” (Synopsis courtesy of Vancouver Underground Film Festival)
FESTIVALS //
Slamdance Film Festival – World Premiere
Cucalorus Film Festival
Atlanta Film Festival
NY Underground Film Festival
Shadowfestival
John Hopkins Film Festival
Vancouver Underground Film Festival
Chicago Underground Film Festival
Cinematexas Film Festival
THEATRICAL//
Pioneer Theater, NYC – Theatrical Premiere
PRESS//
“Where a more formally considered film — like Larry Clark’s KIDS, to which STANDING BY YOURSELF has already been compared — would inevitably impose value judgments on the characters and situations (closeness for identification, distance for irony or disapproval), Mr. Koury’s technique implies nothing and imposes nothing. He is just there to watch, neither condemning his brother’s lack of ambition nor romanticizing it. For kids who feel trapped by an unsympathetic environment, this is what life looks like..Mr. Koury strikes a muffled note of pathos that is quietly devastating. ” Dave Kehr, The New York Times
“A seat-of-the-pants documentary, with a homemade style and a fractured soul. This film possesses a strain of raw truth that Harmony Korine only dreams about.” John Anderson, Newsday
“One of the 10 Best unseen films of 2002. This shattering feature provided a rare glimpse into the harrowing underside of American youth culture and signals the arrival of a talented filmmaker of enormous risk-taking potential.” Phil Hall, FilmThreat.com
“Standing by Yourself is a haunting and thorough film. It’s what punk rock music used to be, and what the video medium could use more of: spirit, perception, conviction.” Jeremiah Kipp, FilmCritic.com
“Chilling in its objective portrait of dreary, lost twenty-first century America.”
Donald J. Levit, ReelTalk Movie Review