Benny Villanova had many lives.
He is a Sicilian immigrant, a Vietnam veteran, a former sanitation worker, and most recently a “certified” garbologist. Benny scours the neighborhood, collecting what others throw away, then selling these treasures from his storefront garage. He and his friends like to hang out there, shooting the breeze and smoking marijuana.
Benny is charismatic, irreverent, and sometimes really funny.
He is also at war with his family. Here is a man sharing a house with his wife but living as a stranger. This is a household on the edge.
“Benny [is] a good person in one sense,” says a friend and neighbor. “In another sense, he’s crazy.”
The Challenge of The American-Made Benny
We had numerous challenges in reporting, producing, and in making the decision to ultimately publish this story. We feel this story is incomplete due to access issues and time constraints inherent with MediaStorm’s approach to a workshop story. Sometimes you can learn as much from your shortcomings as from your successes. As such, we hope this will serve as an important case study about the ethics of storytelling.
Brian Storm, Executive Producer, MediaStorm.
Video and Photography: Marcin Szczepanski, Markel Redondo, Bill Johnson, Rob Finch
Editor: Bill Johnson
Additional Production: Leandro Badalotti
Graphics: Joe Fuller
Producer: Eric Maierson, Rob Finch
Executive Producer: Brian Storm
