New Jersey

‘Vineland' Puts Little-Noticed South Jersey City into Spotlight in New Short Film

Edwin Rosa wants people to look at his hometown of Vineland, New Jersey, in a different way.

The skateboarder and filmmaker hopes to accomplish this through his short film, “Vineland.” The music-driven 20-minute video explores the South Jersey city, and showcases a variety of local businesses, organizations, and undiscovered talent.

Rosa said he wants to “give back to the city by inspiring people to be more active in the community.” 

"With Vineland, we take a deeper look into a city that is full of potential. To hear different stories, bring people into the inner city, and give them a different perspective on what they see from the outside."

Rosa said his family moved to Vineland in 2004. He grew up skateboarding around the inner city, and said “it really opened my eyes and taught me a lot about the city.”

The film is now available on YouTube and Vimeo.

The initial premiere took place Oct. 12 at Back to the Juicer, one of the businesses featured in film.

“There was a large amount of positivity that came out of the film’s release —honestly more than I had expected. To me, that meant everything, seeing people have so much faith in each other and learn things about the city they hadn’t known previously,” Rosa said.

Rosa said his crew on the film were all very familiar with the subject matter.

"We all pretty much grew up together in Vineland. My cinematographer is my best friend and my other best friend composed the film," Rosa said. "So working with your closest friends that all have applicable backgrounds in film made everything easier to do.”

Rosa now is taking some time off to get more involved with local musicians, artists, and creators to help promote their content with future plans for another short narrative film, most likely also based out of Vineland.

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