Streetwise (1984 film)

Streetwise
Directed by	Martin Bell
Produced by	Cheryl McCall
Written by	Cheryl McCall
Release date(s)	1984
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Streetwise is a 1984 documentary film by director Martin Bell, not to be confused with the war journalist Martin Bell. It followed in the wake of a July 1983 Life magazine article, "Streets of the Lost", by Cheryl McCall and the photographer Mary Ellen Mark, Bell's wife.

According to Mark's accompanying, 1988 book, also named Streetwise, McCall and Mark traveled to Seattle specifically to reveal that even in a town that billed itself as America's most livable city, there still existed rampant homelessness and desperation. After making connections with several homeless children during the writing of the article, Mark convinced Bell that the children were worthy of his making a documentary based on their lives. McCall and Mark were also instrumental in making the film. Streetwise follows the lives of several homeless teenagers, although it focuses most on 14-year-old Erin Blackwell, a child prostitute who goes by the name of Tiny. Much of the time, Tiny stays at the home of her alcoholic mother, Pat, who seems unfazed by her daughter's prostitution, calling it a "phase".

Book

Mark photographed many of the children throughout the filming of Streetwise and published a book of the same name in 1988. The photographs are captioned with quotations from the film. The transcript of Bell's film appears at the end of the book, with only minor differences.

Tiny

When Streetwise was nominated for a 1984 Academy Award for documentary, Tiny attended the Oscar ceremony with Bell and Mark. Despite Tiny's celebrity, however, her life did not radically change track. Mark has returned to Seattle to photograph Tiny many times since 1983, and photographs of Tiny have appeared in Mark's later books, which reveal that in the years after the Streetwise projects, Tiny continued her prostitution, became a drug addict, became obese, and gave birth to nine children fathered by several different men. In the mid-2000s, however, Mark and Bell's 23-minute film, Erin, revealed that Tiny had cleaned up and settled down with a husband and her minor children.

Plot summary

Streetwise portrays the lives of nine desperate teenagers. Thrown too young into a seedy grown up world, these runaways and castaways survive, but just barely. Rat, the dumpster diver, Tiny, the teenage prostitute, Shellie, the baby-faced blonde, DeWayne, the hustler, all old beyond their years. All underage survivors fighting for life and love on the streets of downtown Seattle, Washington.

Cast list

• Roberta Joseph Hayes as Herself
• Justin Early
• Kim
• Lulu
• Patti
• Shadow
• Erin (A.K.A. "Tiny")
• Dewayne
• Lillie
• Munchkin
• Rat
• Shellie
• Baby Gramps
• Tom Waits as Himself
• Patrice

Theatrical release information

• US Theatrical Release Date: 1984
• Production Company: Bear Creek
• Filming Locations: Seattle, Washington, USA

What became of the kids

As shown in the movie, Dewayne Pomeroy hanged himself in July 1984, the day before his 17th birthday. Some of the street kids held a balloon release and planted a tree in Freeway Park in his memory. Lou Ellen "Lulu" Couch was stabbed by a man at an arcade on 1st and Pike Street during a fight in December 1985. Her last words were, "Tell Martin and Mary Ellen Lulu died". Approximately 319 people attended her funeral. Two floor plaques at the Pike Place Market bear the names of Dewayne and Lulu. Roberta Joseph Hayes fell victim to Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer. Rat is married with children and has grandchildren.

External links

• Mary Ellen Mark (official site)
• Streetwise at the Internet Movie Database
• Miller, Brian. "Where She Is Now: Once the teen star of Streetwise, Tiny's tale is continued after 22 years", Seattle Weekly, October 4, 2006
• Justin Reed Early (official site)