Shithole Country

A man affected by the isolation of the COVID 19 pandemic wears a Plague mask to cope as he walks around NYC reflecting on the failures of humanity and American capitalism.

A man dressed as "The Plague doctor" lost his job during the pandemic and becomes extremely isolated during the lockdowns of the COVID 19 Pandemic. He walks the streets of New York City with his face covered and spends much of his time on Roosevelt Island and the Astoria ferry. He goes into a series of monologues about his past experience of traveling the world and the despair he saw when traveling and the failures of US capitalism. He walks around Roosevelt island reflecting on his on pain and isolation . He then has a series of visual flashbacks of horrible events he witnessed when traveling the world . He cynically analyzes the world around him and effects that the pandemic has on the American Working Class. He writes and recites poetry as an outlet in an attempts to cope with life. Through his analysis comes a tiny glimpse of hope that the US empire can be saved if there is a fundamental change.

  • Amanda Porche
    Director
  • Amanda Porche
    Writer
  • Amanda Porche
    Producer
  • Christopher Lucka
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Runtime:
    7 minutes 43 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 20, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Shooting Format:
    digital
  • Film Color:
    Black & White
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Amanda Porche

Amanda Porche is an NYC based artist originally From New Orleans , LA. She discovered her desire to make films during the COVID 19 pandemic. Before settling in NYC, Amanda lived 4 years out of a backpack and existed as a drifter. She did voluntary work during the 2016 refugee crisis and witness many dark events when traveling. This would later play a massive influence in her art. In her own country she witnesses and experiences massive wealth inequality and aims to make art that exposes these subjects to others. She is from a working class background. Amanda Identifies as neurodiverse and was diagnosed with autism at 15. the different thought process possessed by autistic people greatly influences her art. She feels as if autistic artists have to fight to get their voices heard and work and she is willing to do that. Her aim is to create work that is about topics much greater than herself and showcases the feelings and stories of marginalized people. Despite doing activist work in America or abroad, she feels filmmaking is an extension of that. She is a painter , writer and photographer and now with her short film "Shithole Country " she is exploring the art of filmmaking .

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Director Statement

As a neurodivergent filmmaker, I feel it is vital to say that "Shithole " country was entirely created by autistic people. Myself and Actor Chris Lucka met at a support group for autistic adults in NYC. With the stereotypes of autistic people lacking empathy and imagination, i feel I am obligated to be open about it. Shithole country was written with a high level of empathy .

The flashback section of the film is autobiographical and my own travel photos were used for the sequence. This film had no budget and when making it, I wrote a series of monologues, shot the video and pieced it together when editing.

The aim is to showcase the horrible failures of how the US handled the COVID19 pandemic where working class people were forced to risk their lives and do low income essential jobs. I also wanted to showcase the otherside which was mass unemployment and the feeling of isolation.

Being a disabled person from a working class background, I want to document and tell the story of marginalized groups that are harmed and discarded by the current system. As an autistic person , i want to make films about my own marginalized group since most interpretations of autism are by people who don't know how it feels to be autistic . Some of the portrayals are somewhat offensive and over exaggerated. This is why I feel autistic people are best qualified to tell our own stories. This is true of all marginalized groups.
This is my first ever film and hope that it will reach and audience . This is both due to the topic of the film and the fact few autistic filmmakers get to a fair shot to show their art due to systemic ableism and see that we can make highly empathetic films and have great creative ideas.