New York, NY, USA
$1000 - $1500 / Day
Request QuoteDavid Usui is a documentary director, producer, cinematographer and editor in New York. His work has been featured on PBS, ITVS, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and VICE. His collaboration with the legendary director Albert Maysles on In Transit—a contemplative exploration of life on Amtrak’s Empire Builder—premiered at Tribeca Film Festival, where it earned the Special Jury Prize for Best Feature Documentary. In Been Here Stay Here, his directorial debut, David captures the crisis unfolding on Tangier Island, where a close-knit Christian community contends with the reality of losing their home to rising seas. In 2009, David co-founded Lost & Found Films, a production company creating documentary and commercial content for brands, NGOs, and broadcasters. He studied philosophy and environmental studies at Western Washington University, and served as an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
As the cost of living rises across the United States, so too is the number of people who dwell in their vehicles. Some travel across the country looking for work and to fulfill the American Dream. Others never want to settle anywhere, happy to make a home for themselves in their vans, buses and campers. Meet these American Nomads, each having made their homes in their vehicles while living their best life on the road.
Through intimate cinema verité, Been Here Stay Here, explores the quiet yet profound crisis unfolding on Tangier Island. As the rising seas encroach upon their shores, this close-knit Christian fishing community find themselves at a poignant crossroads. Their centuries-old way of life, sustained by faith and the rhythms of the Chesapeake Bay, is now threatened by a climate crisis that could force them to leave the only home they have ever known.
In Transit journeys into the hearts and minds of everyday passengers aboard Amtrak's Empire Builder, the busiest long-distance train route in America. Captured in the tradition of direct cinema, the film unfolds as a series of interconnected vignettes, ranging from overheard conversations to moments of deep intimacy, in which passengers share their fears, hopes and dreams.
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