Local Color

A successful artist looks back with loving memories on the summer of his defining year, 1974. A talented but troubled 18-year-old aspiring artist befriends a brilliant elderly alcoholic painter who has turned his back on not only art but life. The two form what appears to be at first a tenuous relationship. The kid wants to learn all the secrets the master has locked away inside his head and heart. Time has not been kind to the old master. His life appears pointless to him until the kid rekindles his interest in his work and ultimately gives him the will to live. Together, they give one another a priceless gift. The kid learns to see the world through the master's eyes. And the master learns to see life through the eyes of innocence again. This story is based on a real life experience.

In 1974, in the suburb of Port Chester, New York, an aspiring teenage artist named John Talia has a troubled relationship with his deeply insecure father who does not understand his talent. While visiting his friend Yammi, John finds that the genius Russian painter Nicoli Seroff lives nearby, and he decides to pay a visit to his hero. John finds a bitter alcoholic elder who still grieves the loss of his wife Anya many years ago, but he successfully befriends the master. When Nicoli travels to the countryside in Pennsylvania for the summer, he invites John to go with him to teach him how to paint. Then John meets Nicoli's neighbor Carla, who grieves over the loss of her son, and the arrogant critic of art and Nicolai's friend Curtis Sunday. During their vacation, the teacher-student relationship between Nicoli and John improves their individual lives.