Bellmore filmmaker returns to LIIFE

A love of travel and photography led Bellmore resident Leslye Abbey to where she is today. A social worker by day, Abbey has been telling stories through documentary films for more than 10 years.

Abbey, who has traveled around the world, made the switch from still photography to film when friends began asking for the stories behind her pictures. Film provided a means for people to tell their stories.

A vacation abroad introduced Abbey to a Tibetan woman who invited the travel enthusiast to visit her in Tibet; a plane ride later with camera in hand, Abbey had hours of footage detailing Tibetan life. When Abbey returned home to Bellmore, she was unsure what to do with it. Abbey eventually teamed up with director Gary Teper, and together they put together "Dharamsala/Tibet in Exile."

"Dharamsala/Tibet in Exile," like all of her movies, stemmed from Abbey's personal interests. "I find that most of my movies kind of came to me, or I had an interest," she said.

Her travels and desire to tell people's stories have led Abbey to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota and the Bayou in Louisiana. Snowflake Video Productions, Abbey's company, has produced 13 films that look closely at the lives of people the public might not otherwise see.

"It takes time to make a really good documentary," Abbey noted. "You want to be with the people over time because life happens."

Such was the case with "Rosey at One Hundred," Abbey's most recent documentary, which premiered at the Long Island International Film Expo this past weekend. Abbey documented the life of Rose Kramer, a Jewish Russian woman born in 1908 who eventually ended up in Long Beach. The movie follows Kramer at the age of 100 and documents the story of her life. Kramer was a talented artist and compassionate nurse who could be considered an early feminist, Abbey said.

Audiences were taken inside the home and personal life of Kramer; like all of Abbey's movies, light is cast on a subject that might otherwise go unnoticed — aging.

Abbey said she makes movies like "Rosey at One Hundred" so that people can learn something new, be it about aging or a different culture. "That's what the movies are about, the story," Abbey said of all her films' messages. "And that comes through, you really get to know who these people are, what it's about, and you have a connection with them because it's personal."

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