Autumn Collier is a 4-year-old Jersey City girl who has probably lived through more than some 44-year-olds.
She has survived living without electricity for three weeks, being evicted along with her grandmother, Rose, from their apartment, and dealing with the incarceration of Autumn’s 18-year-old mother, Antoinette, for burglary.
All those hardships and more have been captured unflinchingly in a new documentary, “Autumn’s Eyes.”
Directed by actress Paola Mendoza and filmmaker Gabriel Noble, the movie was shot between January and November 2004 on Communipaw and Madison avenues in Jersey City.
“Autumn’s Eyes” formed out of the relationship struck between Mendoza and young Autumn when both appeared in a 2005 independent film called “On the Outs.” That film, about three young women trying to rebuild their lives after incarceration, was shot in Jersey City just like “Autumn’s Eyes.”
“I became so close to Autumn, it was like she became my own daughter, and I got to know her family pretty well,” said Mendoza.
What makes this documentary unique is the audience will be seeing what Autumn was seeing, literally.
“We, as filmmakers, wanted to do something different in capturing Autumn’s experience, so we made the decision to show how she views the world from her level,” said Noble, who worked as the assistant director on “On the Outs.”
An excerpt of the documentary will be showing on March 2 at the IFC Film Center in New York City at a fundraising event, and it will showed in its entirety at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Tex. later in the month.
What Autumn’s eyes see
After filming on “On the Outs” wrapped in late 2003, Mendoza and Noble decided to not only make a film about Autumn, but to also explore the larger issue of poverty in America.
Mendoza and Noble, working out of pocket and through donations, embarked on their documentary. But pulling off the feat of having the camera stand in for Autumn was easier said than done.
“Filming her was a challenge. She’s so active, and I had to constantly improvise with the camera,” said Noble. He used a lightweight Panasonic DVX digital video camera to enable to move as Autumn moved.
Also, the filmmakers had to deal with how deeply their lives would be impacted.
“I and Gabriel, as a team, we became a source of guidance for each other when one of us wanted to step in and help while shooting a bad situation,” said Mendoza. “But we would stop each other so as not to ruin the truth of the moment.”
Mendoza went on to say that when the camera was off, they made sure to immediately lend a hand to the family.
Those situations became all too common, which not only further strengthened the resolve of the filmmakers, but also enhanced their respect for the Collier family.
“Those are some strong people, especially the grandmother who kept going in and out of the hospital, but yet would have the strength to bring in people in who needed a place a stay,” said Noble. “And only once were we asked to not turn on our cameras.”
Mendoza said she asked Rose Collier, or “Mama Rose” as they knew her, why they were given such access.
“She said to me, ‘Everybody has to see our story, what are we going through, because everyone is going through the same thing. There are not just poor people in Jersey City. ‘ ”
But most of all, it was Autumn who impressed the filmmakers.
“I remembered Autumn’s grandmother telling her that she has to be the woman of the family when Antoinette went to jail,” said Mendoza. “And she was the glue of that family, a bright, witty and special little girl. She would bring laughter to everyone when things were down, and she was so aware and perceptive of what was going on around her.”
Mendoza added, “I worry for her because she has all this potential, but with what’s going on around her, you wonder what her path in life will be.”
Update
As for the Collier family, there is some good news. Mendoza said Antoinette Collier has enrolled in school in Jersey City, and Autumn has started kindergarten. Mendoza said that school has helped her to “flourish.”
“From what she tells me, she loves school and can’t wait to go every day,” said Mendoza.
But the news isn’t so good for Rose Collier, whose health has been deteriorating daily due to problems with weight and diabetes.
Autumn’s Eyes is still in post-production, but should be completed in time of screenings next month. That will be a surprise to young Autumn.
“When we told Autumn about our movie, she didn’t realize we made a movie about her,” said Mendoza. “I can’t wait for her to see it.”
The experience also had an immense impact on the filmmakers, who spent over two years in Jersey City on two productions.
“Where we were filming, we would enter these beautiful buildings from the outside with great architecture, and then when you enter inside, there’s this whole different world,” said Noble. “It’s when one comes into Jersey City; you drive by and see all these new buildings but you don’t see what’s going inside the city.”