Halfway House Hijinks Jump To Silver Screen

A New Haven street outreach worker and his partner in cinematography are bringing ​“the craziest halfway house on Earth” to the Criterion.

A decade after releasing its first film, Pressure Point Productions will screen ​“Halfway House” this Thursday night for the first and only time, before working to get it distributed by a streaming and downloading service.

Writer Pepe Vega, whose day job is connecting with at-risk young people out of the Fmaily Alliance’s Street Outreach Worker program, said he was inspired to write the script for the film because he knows so many people who have passed through a halfway house but never saw that reality represented in the media. ​“Some people go back after they get out, because they couldn’t handle the real world,” he said.

Part of the movie was filmed at Project M.O.R.E.‘s Walter Brooks Halfway House on Howard Avenue in the Hill neighborhood.

Pressure Point Productions released its first film, Homecoming, 10 years ago. Vega came up with the idea for a follow-up almost immediately afterward. After an initial draft in 2004, he dusted off the script earlier this year and got to work revising it. They hired local music video production company P Wyld to put the movie together.

Local artist Hugh Gallman plays a man released from a 10-year stint in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

“He has choices to make,” said the film’s director, Rodney Moore. ​“He has to deal with the young man who actually committed the crime. How is he going to live his life?”

The movie is more ​“dramedy” than drama or comedy alone.

“This ain’t no ordinary halfway house,” Vega said, repeating the movie’s cutline. Gallman’s character ends up surrounded by a motley crew of other ex-offenders, who help bring humor to what could otherwise be a dark premise.

The movie’s trailer—which would ​“definitely be rated R” — doesn’t give away much of the plot. The series of clips features slapstick lines and a lot of bare skin. Vega and Moore said they want people to be entertained, but also think about the serious life decisions the characters in the film have made and have yet to make.

They recruited hundreds of actors and musicians from New Haven and other Connecticut cities to participate in the two-hour-long feature.

“We tried to show Connecticut love,” said Moore, who is a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild and had a role in both films.

But they also had to seek out some star power, especially if they wanted the movie to go beyond New Haven. Vega said his friend knew ​“The African King of Comedy” Michael Blackson (pictured) and they persuaded him to get on board.

Vega put his own money into the production. They paid their major actors and also managed the cost of feeding the crew throughout the filming process, ultimately spending more than $20,000.

Tickets for Thursday’s premiere cost $12 and are available at Vega’s store Nitro’s at 59 Whalley Ave.