Documenting Superstorm Sandy Took A Toll On Toms River Filmmaker

by Patricia A. Miller

Filmmaker Sandy Levine couldn’t reach her 85-year-old father for several days after Superstorm Sandy tore through Ocean County on Oct. 29, 2012. She was frantic.

She had no idea how he and his wife were. Communications were down, there was no power.

“We tried to get in touch with him,” she said.

By the time she and her family made it to her father’s home on Kettle Creek Road in the Silverton section of Toms River, the water was one to two feet in the house, “depending on where you stood,” she recalled.

Shortly after that, Levine was able to visit the barrier peninsula towns. She was horrified at what she saw.

“This is my home,” she said. “I have deep, deep roots in Ocean County. “It was just like a stab in the heart. I just couldn’t believe what I saw. You could stand in a spot in Ortley Beach, make a 360-degree turn and every house was gone.”

That was the moment she decided to document what the monster storm had done to Ocean County, no matter how long it took.

“I was absolutely compelled to start shooting,” Levine said. “It was something I just had to do.”

Levine, a television and video producer who spent 23 years working for PBS, picked up her Sony camera and began a two-year journey to document the devastation in Toms River, Brick and the barrier island

Her film, “Heartbreak and Healing After Sandy,” debuted at two screening at Ocean County College recently.

The audience had an “overly positive reaction” to a sad film, Levine said. But people filed out of the theater very quietly when the documentary was over.

“It’s not a happy film,” she said. “It’s a heavy film. It’s a lot of struggle.”

Levine has pledged to have at least five free screenings in Ocean County before the
documentary eventually makes its way to television.

Levine considered releasing the film a year ago, to mark the one-year anniversary of Sandy.

“There was just nothing positive to report,” she said. “I decided it wasn’t time yet.”

Levine shot the documentary primarily in central Ocean County. There’s lots of footage devoted to Toms River, Seaside Heights, Brick ,Mantoloking, Island Beach State Park and a small clip of Good Luck Point in Berkeley Township.

She followed residents and they struggled to navigate the insurance and Sandy grant bureaucracies.

“Some people were able to lift their houses,” she said. “But there are so many challenges. Most people still love the Jersey Shore and don’t want to leave.”

Levine got some good news on Friday. The PBS station WHYY will air the documentary, probably some time in November.

The next showing is slated for 7 p.m. on Nov. 12 at the Toms River branch of the Ocean County Library. Seats are still available as of Friday. Registration is required. Please register at www.theoceancountylibrary.org or call 732-349-6200.