Private Project

When The Chevy Breaks (How Small Towns Solve Big Problems)

When The Chevy Breaks (How Small Towns Fix Big Problems) tells a collection of stories, ranging from Machias, Maine taking on the world's most powerful navy, on a Sunday after church, to an amputee father waiting for his son to return from Afghanistan so they can hike up Mt. Katahdin together. All these stories of overcoming obstacles, big & small, are set against the spectacle of Downeast Coastal Maine, including Eastport, Jonesport, Machias & way out west Kingfield. A parade of persistent people you'll only meet here. The last 2 films Kryszak directed with his class aired on MainePublic?PBS: WHO MADE YOU IN AMERICA, & WHATEVER WORKS: Exploring Opiate Addiction, the later winning an excellence award in the international Docs Without Borders Film Festival

  • Alan Kryszak
    Director
    "Whatever Works: Exploring Opiate Addiction"; "Who Made You In America?";"Time Without Guilt"
  • Alan Kryszak
    Writer
  • Downeast Documentary Class of UMM
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 20 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 19, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    100 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    HD (1920 x 1080p)
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes
Director Biography - Alan Kryszak

Al Kryszak is a composer, guitarist & film maker, with film work featured on PBS, Docs Without Borders & The Toronto Short Film Festival, and music on Turner Classic Movies, Carnegie Recital Hall, Lincoln Center & KINO Intl.

On the New Media & Music Faculty at The University of Maine at Machias, Kryszak has directed film & students in filmmaking, through the Downeast Documentary project, including 2018's "Who Made You In America?" & 2017's “Whatever Works: Exploring Opiate Addiction" (2018 "Excellence" Award in Docs Without Borders International Film Festival)

Recent projects, include "Time Without Guilt", an Official Selection in the Toronto Short Film Festival (2018), from "Soft Clowns of the Sea", the CD released on the FilmTrax label.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

This year's project combined 7 months of my filming various people in north coastal Maine (Downeast), addressing all kinds of large & small problems, solved by non-ordinary folks in ordinary settings.

I directed the film while guiding students in my Downeast Documentary class at The University of Maine at Machias, as they were introduced to storytelling, fact-based filmmaking, photography, sound, composition & editing.

Miranda Sutton
Brooke Hachey
Will Rittenhouse
Kayla Cater
Sophie Squire
Eric Darby
Christopher Palmiotto
Trevor Tanski
Jesse Gray
Alex Blackie
Lucas Logan
Abdalla Mostafa
Alexis Morrill
Holly Preston