Asheville train-hopper/filmmaker spotlighted in New York Times

Posted on by Rebecca Bowe

Asheville typically catches the attention of national audiences as a tourist destination, but a local filmmaker has documented the view of WNC from a boxcar.

The New York Times Sunday edition featured a story about the Hobo Film Festival, a traveling cinematic exhibit that was screened recently in Brooklyn. The series of films offers glimpses into the experiences of people who unlawfully jump aboard trains, criss-crossing the country by boxcar. Shawn Lukitsch, a 31-year-old train hopper and filmmaker from Asheville, has been traveling from state to state to promote the series. The showing in Brooklyn was held at an infoshop-style community center.

Among the presentations was Lukitsch’s Spruce Pine to Bostic, a 22-minute film that documents a train ride through mountain passes, swamps and tunnels near North Carolina’s western boundary. Also shown was Who Is Bozo Texino?, a film about the search for the identity of a train-hopping graffiti artist of legendary stature.

Click here to read Mountain Xpress’ own coverage of the Hobo Film Festival, which was screened here last summer.

— Rebecca Bowe, contributing editor

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