A film by Alex Fischman Cárdenas & Gabriel Crawford Connelly
A year after covid ravaged New York city, Ikeem "Teeth" Jones reflects on his legacy as the best subway dancer.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH THE FILMMAKER
Tell us a bit about yourself and your filmmaking background.
I began making movies when I was 12. All my friends got really into skating and since I was frightened by the prospect of falling, I filmed. These movies were shot and edited on a 2007 Sony Erickson phone and they were incredibly bad! Regardless, I received so much encouragement that I continued my hobby of making movies. I upgraded to a camcorder and began working with semi-professional actors, and then, with a crew. Eventually, I made what I'd consider to be my first short film, La Vieja Quinta at 17. Since then, I moved to the US to study film and continued making work like Alienación. When the pandemic struck, it shut down my thesis film, and with nothing to film in NYC I was incredibly bored.
How did you find your subject for Teeth?
This is where my friend and DP Gabriel Connelly comes in! We had worked on Alienación together, and he said "oh we should do something about a subway dancer"... That thought sent me spinning across the internet in search for NYC's best subway dancer, and so, I found Ikeem. Ikeem, AKA TEETH, was kind enough to meet me. Our first interview was in July of 2020, and I spent almost a year going back and digging deeper through his story. We became close and even played call of duty together.
Any hacks or tips for making a short documentary?
When making a documentary or narrative film I think you have to become really close to your cast and crew. Gaining and maintaining their confidence is key. I really pride myself in trying to create a fun and enjoyable experience on set. I think the only hack I could give is YouTube! I learned so much by following filmmaking accounts and basically taught myself most of the stuff I would re-learn in college.
Congrats on “Teeth” getting selected for a Vimeo Staff Pick! Any tips for filmmakers on how they can up their chances in following in your footsteps?
We were so honored to receive a Vimeo Staff Pick for Teeth recently. The little badge is a huge honor and it helped in spreading the film to more eyeballs.
This is my first time getting a staff pick, so I can only really speak of what I think worked this time. I think its first about creating work that feels fresh and then sending it out to blogs. Pages like Kino, Short of the Week, Booooooooom, Film Shortage, Directors Library, etc.. I want to believe Vimeo curators roam those pages and having your work there makes it easier for them to find it.
Any film recommendations that we should add to our watchlist?
Shorts: I want to give a plug to Ewurakua Dawson-Amoah's to the girl that looks like me also shot by my friend Gabriel Connelly.
Features: I recently saw the Russian film Beanpole and its beautiful depiction of death and suffering was a mind-boggling trip.