Martin Bell

Streetwise

Streetwise

Seattle, 1983. Taking their camera to the streets of what was supposedly America’s most livable city, filmmaker Martin Bell, photographer Mary Ellen Mark, and journalist Cheryl McCall set out to tell the stories of those society had left behind: homeless and runaway teenagers living on the city’s margins. Born from a Life magazine exposé by Mark and McCall, Streetwise follows an unforgettable group of at-risk children—including iron-willed fourteen-year-old Tiny, who would become the project’s most haunting and enduring figure, along with the pugnacious yet resourceful Rat and the affable drifter Dewayne—who, driven from their broken homes, survive by hustling, panhandling, and dumpster diving. Granted remarkable access to their world, the filmmakers craft a devastatingly frank, empathetic portrait of lost youth growing up far too soon in a world that has failed them.

Film Info

  • United States
  • 1984
  • 91 minutes
  • Color
  • 1.40:1
  • English
  • Spine #1079

Available In

Collector's Set

Streetwise/Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell

Streetwise/Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell

Blu-ray Box Set

1 Disc

$27.96

Collector's Set

Streetwise/Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell

Streetwise/Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell

DVD Box Set

2 Discs

$20.96

Streetwise
Cast
Alabama
Featuring
Annie
Antoine
Biker Kim
Black Junior
Breezy
Buddha
Butch
Calvin
Chrissie
Dawn
Dewayne
Drugs
Eddie
Erica
Erin (Tiny)
Floyd
J.R.
James
Jimi
John
Juan
Justin
Kevin
Kim
Lillie
Lora Lee
Lulu
Melissa
Michele
Mike
Munchkin
Patrice
Patti
Peehole
Rat
Red Dog
Roberta
Russ
Sam
Shadow
Shellie
Smurf
Sparkles
Steve
Tracy
White Junior
William
Credits
Director
Martin Bell
Produced by
Cheryl McCall
Executive producers
Angelika T. Saleh
Connie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Edited by
Nancy Baker
Cinematography by
Martin Bell
Sound
Keith Desmond
Associate editor
Jonathan Oppenheim
Assistant editor
Meredith Birdsall
Sound editors
Janet Swanson
Jonathan Oppenheim
Pola Rappaport
Meredith Birdsall
Camera assistants
Douglas Pellegrino
Eve Pellegrino
Production assistants
Diane Birdsall
Jan Stone Hall
Rerecording supervisor
Dick Vorisek
“Take Care of All My Children” and “Rat’s Theme” written and performed by
Tom Waits