The Collector of Bedford Street

Although Larry Selman claims to have collected $500,000 for the AIDS walk, it turns out the Greenwich Village man living on Bedford Street actually raises some $3,000 annually for local charities. Larry's not really lying, and the disparity in numbers in no way diminishes his astonishing accomplishments; Larry is mentally retarded, but that hasn't stopped him from being on the face-to-face frontlines, helping others. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short in 2003, filmmaker Alice Elliott's The Collector of Bedford Street is a remarkable and touching portrait of both a man struggling with the genetic cards fate has dealt him, and a community that rallies together to ensure this "good neighbor" is able to maintain a somewhat autonomous life when his elderly uncle can no longer help care for him. In one of the most quietly heartbreaking scenes in the film, Larry--who has an I.Q. of 62--says of his still unknown I.Q. test results, "If it's over 70, I can't [receive benefits]…but I want it to be high." A concerned neighbor herself, Elliott and co-cinematographer Cynthia Wade follow Larry on his fundraising rounds, record the meetings of beneficent community members who agree to pool money together to start a trust fund for Larry, and capture his budding relationship with a retarded woman he meets at a dance. A striking, moving, beautiful glimpse into the life of a man with less brains, perhaps, but more heart than most, this powerful profile is highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)