JungleLand

Red Cloud Pictures presents JungleLand written by Salvatore Lumetta and Robert Lenihan; directed by Joe Benenati.
Jungleland explores issues of racism, sexuality and cultural identity from a uniquely Italian-American perspective, exposing the connection between the degradation of a culture and the resulting loss of humanity. This story of love and betrayal, honor and conscience, follows the path of Jimmy Guardella (Salvatore Lumetta), a neighborhood fixture with mob ties, whose turbulent relationship with his girlfriend Marianne (Jocelyn Lombardo) sets off a series of repercussions that ultimately serve as a moral testing ground not only for Jimmy, but also for the entire community.On a summer day in 1989, Yusef Hawkins, a 16-year old African-American, and three of his friends went to the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn to buy a used car. A mob of young Italian-Americans, incited by rumors of an impending confrontation and armed with sticks and bats, surrounded the teenagers. A gun was drawn and the unarmed Hawkins was violently shot to death. This tragic event inspired the screenplay Jungleland, in which similar events transpire between fictional characters.