Astor Place, The American Dream. A documentary film about the hairdressing shop of New York stars

Astor Place, The American Dreamthe director’s documentary Giuseppe Malpassowill stop at the end of February Durango Film Festival, in Arizona. Dedicated to Astor Place Hairstylistsone of the most iconic and historic places in New Yorkthe documentary tells the birth and history of the most famous barber and hairdressing salon in the Big Apple.
Undisputed symbol of urban culture and perfect representation of the New York myth, Astor Place was born in 1947 from the dream of Enrico Vezza, an Italian-American emigrant who landed in New York from the province of Latina. Not a simple hairdressing salon but a Babel of hairstyling, a melting pot of cultures, stories, a crossroads of famous people and normal people.

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And Robert De Niro a Andy Warhol, and David Bowie a Bill de Blasio e Ivanka Trump, everyone sat down for a cut in the legendary seats of Astor Place. From the post-war years to today, Astor Place has evolved without ever betraying its identity as a salon that continues to make its diversity and multiculturalism its success. Thanks also to Enrico Vezza’s grandchildren, John and Paul Vezzawhich keep the grandfather’s dream and the soul of this place alive to this day.
Between old photos hanging on the walls, neon lights, a canteen transformed into an art gallery, over twenty languages are spoken in Astor Place. They are those of hairdressers from all over the world who have chosen New York as their second home. Each of them has a story to tell.
The camera of Giuseppe Malpasso, a Sicilian director originally from Lentini, in the province of Syracuse, focuses on the gaze and stories of those who pick up scissors and combs every day.
“I chose to tell Astor Place in a documentary not only because it is an iconic and unique place in New York but because the stories of those who work in this place are stories that belong to all of us emigrants. The arrival, the sacrifice, the dream of a better life, the difficulties and the objectives achieved are situations in which we identify and which we have experienced” – comments director Giuseppe Malpasso.

Astor Place, in the East Village, experienced its golden age in the 1980s.
In that period, one hundred and twenty-eight hairdressers occupied three floors with their workstations, intercepting and launching new trends, often belonging to cultures such as punk or hip hop.
“Astor place has always stood out for its alternative spirit and style,” says Giuseppe Maplasso, who has been in New York for over twenty years where he founded the film production company Art Motion Pictures. This place not only launched some trends but also became a training school for many hairdressers.”
As in any self-respecting American dream, the moment of difficulty and crisis arrives. It happens during the pandemic, when Astor Place risks closing due to economic difficulties. With a scripted happy ending, the shop is taken over by Jonathan Trichter, an entrepreneur who has fully grasped the historical and human value of this place, as well as the entrepreneurial one.

Today, forty hairdressers work at Astor Place Hairstyling, many of them are immigrants, some speak little or almost no English.

There is also among them Alberto, an emigrant from Sciacca, who has been cutting the hair of the former mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, for twenty years. The price of a cut is still low – around thirty dollars – and you can only pay in cash. Once the neon lights in the hall are turned off, those of the events and exhibitions in the art gallery wanted by the manager-artist come on Michael Saviello, known as Big Mike. It’s the other side of Astor Place, the night side.
Successfully received by audiences and critics, Astor Place, The American Dream was awarded, among others, at the Manhattan Film Festival as best documentary.

“I started the project with the intention of telling and preserving a piece of history linked to this place, says director Malpasso. Through the stories of the characters of Astor Place, the film answers some universal questions and shows humanity’s great hope, resilience and faith.”