Judge Joseph Crater

On January 24 at 6pm, the Jefferson Market Libray will hold its third presentation in the Indie Film Series.  Billy Sternberg will be on hand to show his documentary film work on one of the most notorious New York City mysteries, the disappearance in 1930 of Judge Joseph Crater.  Here's our interview with Mr. Sternberg:

What films/directors inspire you?

One film that sticks out in my mind is a short that I saw  at the City Cinema on 2nd Avenue over 15 years ago.  I believe it was by Chuck Workman, who directed Andy Warhol Superstar.  He played bits and pieces of all of the Academy Award winning movies up to that point to Mason Williams' Classical Gas.  It may be called Precious Images.  It was pre-MTV for me, my first experience with such familiar data rearranged and presented in such short, abstract bursts.

What is it like being a film maker in New York?

I feel that it is somewhat my birthright:  I discovered my grandfather, a New York politician in the 1920s, had a serious connection to one of the most famous missing persons cases of the time.  I felt it was then on me to research this connection and the case and make it come back to life.