Screenwriter, Playwright, Director
ANDRE FUAD DEGAS
AMERICAN AUTOBAHN
Directed by Andre Degas With Michael Von Der Goltz and Jan Jalenak
AMERICAN AUTOBAHN is a road movie about the self discovery of Otto Kruger, a German journalist who is looking to escape from his dangerous and turbulent life as a member of New York's underworld. Otto travels to a small town where he meets Mary, a car mechanic. Mary is looking for excitement, love, and adventure, and she decides to run away with Otto. As they travel across the United States, Otto and Mary fall in love, however, Otto is haunted by flashbacks from his past. The beginning love relationship of Mary and Otto ends suddenly when Otto's past catches up with him.
FIRST CODA
Directed by Andre Degas, an adaption of Samuel Beckett's First Love
FIRST CODA is a story about the recollections of an old man who is haunted by memories from his adolescent years when he was forced to leave his family home. While homeless and living in the park, the young man meets Lulu, a beautiful woman who befriends the young man and gives him a place to live. The young man falls in love with Lulu despite the fact that she is a prostitute; however, the relationship crumbles when he learns that Lulu is pregnant. FIRST CODA was screened in 14 foreign and domestic festivals and played in several European cities. It also played in New York at the Saint Marks Cinema and The Bleecker Street Cinema.
THINGS SHALL GO ON LIKE THIS
Written by Paul Bowles, directed by Andre Degas
A poem by the author himself in Morocco, an exquisite portrayal of ancient Moroccan and culture.
THE KITCHEN
Produced by Jodi Lahaye, directed by Andre Degas
THE KITCHEN is the story of Jamal (Jason Raize), a first generation Eqyptian-American who struggles to strike a balance between his personal aspiration of "making it" in the music business and the responsibilities his immigrant father, Farid (Mark Margolis), force upon him. The two are confined together in Farid's bodega located in the multi-cultural neighborhood known as Hell's Kitchen. Jamal views the bodega as stagnation, and Farid, who doesn't approve of Jamal's bandmates or his older girlfriend, views his son's music career as a dangerous pipe dream.
CROSSING THE LINE
Directed by Andre Degas
I WALKED WITH HEROES
Written and Directed by Andre Degas
Playwright and director Andre Fuad Degas had known his Bonita Springs neighbors – Robert “Bob” Vandegrift and his wife, Anita – for a decade before the pandemic struck. The disease changed social circles everywhere, including the community of Spanish Wells, but it also brought people together in unexpected ways.
Degas discovered that Bob was a World War II veteran he was suffering from PTSD. “He started opening up to me. And I was there, every day, with my camera.”
As he filmed the lives of Bob and Anita over time, Degas observed the healing power of love and service between them.
“I’m a Democrat and Bob is a Republican,” Degas said. “But I respected his patriotism and love for our country, and he respected my opinions. So we put our differences aside and our friendship grew strong.”
Degas became like a son to the couple, and together they navigated COVID, illness, storms and political views. “There are very few Veterans of World War II left,” Degas said; “Even those who were only 17 years old when they enlisted and went to protect our country. Their stories need to be told.”