PAINT THE RUST
Documentary | Feature Film
WATCH THE 40 MINUTE SCREENER OF THE FILM.
Post Production
Finishing Funds Needed: Completion of editing, sound design/mix, color grading, title cards, DCP.
“A story about artists on the edge, united by music, torn apart by life and each other.”
SYNOPSIS
Paint the Rust is the story of a fledgling rock band, “At A Distance,” and three of its Portuguese-American members, Rui, Kelly and Carlos, who dream of making it big from their home base in Newark, New Jersey. The film reveals the inner workings of a fiercely creative, complex union, from inception to implosion; and it shows how outside pressures – day jobs, financial struggles, socio-cultural differences, family and friends – impact the creative process.
Rui Abrunheiro
is the band’s dark, emotionally tormented leader, who produces the arrangements and plays guitar.
Kelly Pinho
is the fiery, abrasive and brutally earnest writer-singer, who battles with low self-esteem, alcohol abuse and a harsh childhood.
Carlos Ferreira
is the playboy drummer, who doubles as a Portuguese media personality.
Story / Summary
Kelly and Rui have a complex relationship, which is further challenged by the ever present Sharon, Rui’s deliciously devious girlfriend, self-anointed muse and Kelly’s bartending colleague.
As the band performs more regularly at more renown music venues in NJ and NY, the tension between Rui, Kelly and Sharon ratchets up. The group works hard to record and launch their debut E.P. album, but emotional strains within the band spills over into confrontation, and the results are explosive, even on stage.
Raw and Intimate
The documentary presents a raw, intimate portrait of the band’s dramatic journey through completely unscripted dialogue scenes, musical performances, solo moments and interviews with the protagonists.
Neighborhood
Enter the Ironbound district, a multi-ethnic neighborhood (home to one of the largest Portuguese-American communities in the USA) located inside the violent city of Newark, New Jersey. This is the milieu that the band members have sprung from – a scrappy, rough-around-the-edges city filled with diverse dreamers, strivers, criminals and survivors.
Filmmaking Style
With principal photography kicking off in 2010 and continuing over the next seven years, the documentary goes beyond whether a band can “make it.” The film is a portrait of how people find meaning and purpose through artistic expression.
Yuri Alves and his camera bring in the viewer as a fly on the wall for all the verité action. You can feel the raw intimacy, passion and authenticity of the subjects who both forget the camera entirely and at times super aware, confessing directly to it. This film is indebted to Cassavetes and to all filmmaking warriors of true independent cinema.
DreamPlay Films 2025.