East River (film)


East River is a 2008 short film written and directed by Marc Grey, notable for being the onscreen debut of Lupita Nyong'o.

Plot

This short film, which has no dialogue, follows a wanderer, newly arrived in New York City, as he walks and cycles around Brooklyn. He eventually meets a photographer in Red Hook with whom he appears to start a relationship. The director, Marc Grey, describes the file as being "about the relationship between physical and emotional space."

Reception

Writing for Film School Rejects, critic Christopher Campbell described confusion around the romance as "more mystifying than frustrating" and went on to say "the plot is not as important as the semi city symphony that arises out of the man’s wandering." The Huffington Post described the film as being "rife with sunshine-drenched shots of Brooklyn bike-riding and gray-skied self-reflection."

Cast