Paperboy Love Prince Runs For Mayor

Director   Owen Dubeck
Country   USA
Year   2021
Languages   English
Genre   Documentary
Running Time   20 min

Paperboy Love Prince is a far cry from your typical New York City mayoral candidate. They can often be found in Washington Square Park standing on top of a bedazzled school bus rapping about social issues. When they announced their run for mayor, many laughed them off as a joke candidate.

However, as their campaign started to heat up, their viral tactics garnered momentum with write ups in Rolling Stone and a feature on The Trevor Noah Show. Can Paperboy act as a nexus between the people who wouldn’t ordinarily engage in politics and a platform that serves them?

This film is part of Shorts: The Bright Sides program.

Director's Statement

I first met Paperboy in the beginning of the pandemic when we were both working to distribute nutritious meals to people who were suffering from food insecurity. I had founded The Farmlink Project, which was delivering surplus crops from farms to millions of Americans. At the same time, Paperboy was leading the community fridge movement in New York City, feeding tens of thousands of people each week. I noticed that Paperboy was reaching people that were either excluded or didn’t have easy access to established food banks, so we started delivering food to them. Fast forward a few months later, Paperboy announced their run for mayor and I set out to document their campaign. As they gained more and more momentum, it was clear that Paperboy was bringing a new perspective to New York’s political conversation. 

Director’s Bio

Owen Dubeck (he/him)

Owen Dubeck is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, specializing in telling stories that drive tangible change. His films have raised $1 million+ for social causes, influenced legislation, and have been screened to audiences across the country.

Owen’s documentaries include Free to Care (Audience Award at Austin Film Festival), Paperboy Love Prince Runs for Mayor (Big Sky FF 2023), and Abundance (in production). He has also worked in the editorial department on The Undocumented Lawyer (Tribeca FF 2020), The Urchin Diver (Santa Barbara FF), and Five Years North (Full Frame 2020).

Owen is also a founding member of The Farmlink Project, a student-led movement that has delivered over 100 million lbs of food assistance to food banks and has been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor Society's Citizen Award.