{"id":240702,"date":"2026-05-22T16:56:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T16:56:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/240702\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T16:56:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T16:56:42","slug":"brooklyn-becomes-a-battlefield-in-wilfred-la-salles-newest-film-the-veteran-brooklyn-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/240702\/","title":{"rendered":"Brooklyn becomes a battlefield in Wilfred La Salle\u2019s newest film, \u2018The Veteran\u2019 \u2022 Brooklyn Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

For independent filmmaker Wilfred La Salle, Brooklyn is more than a backdrop \u2014 it\u2019s the beating heart of his films.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

His newest feature, \u201cThe Veteran,\u201d premieres<\/a> Memorial Day on FOX Soul, tackling issues facing returning service members through a New York lens. Shot across Brooklyn, from homes in Crown Heights<\/a> to the abandoned military structures of Floyd Bennet Field and Fort Tilden, the independent drama transforms familiar borough landscapes into war zones, shelters and city streets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

La Salle\u2019s path to filmmaking<\/a> has been anything but traditional.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI began my career when I was 21 \u2014 I was a New York City NYPD school safety agent. Before that, I was an auxiliary police officer. So it\u2019s always been in my blood,\u201d he said. \u201cMy father was also a police officer. And then I became a New York City correction officer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"La Salle told Brooklyn Paper he chooses to mainly shoot all of his films in Brooklyn. \u201cThe Veteran\u201d features locations in Crown Heights, Fort Tilden and Floyd Bennet Field. Photo courtesy of Wilfred La Salle<\/p>\n

Though filmmaking had always interested him, La Salle said he spent years believing it was unrealistic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always felt like I needed someone else\u2019s permission to pursue it,\u201d he said. \u201cI grew up around civil servants. My family, we were very into, like, \u2018Get your pension, get your union job. Make sure you have something to fall back on.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

That changed in 2019, when he abruptly decided to invest in himself.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI told my wife, at the time she was my girlfriend, I said, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m gonna make films,\u2019\u201d he recalled. \u201cAnd I bought like ten thousand dollars worth of camera equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"La Salle has directed seven films in seven years.Photo courtesy of Wilfred La Salle<\/p>\n

Since then, La Salle has independently produced a feature film every year \u2014 all self-funded.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery year since then, I produced a film on a zero dollar budget,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m the budget. There\u2019s no sponsors. There\u2019s no investors.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

That determination helped put him on the map with his 2024 film, \u201cThe Security Guard\u201d a Brooklyn-set thriller centered around a mass school shooting. The project drove media attention and distribution deals while cementing his reputation for socially conscious storytelling.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m basically a social advocacy filmmaker who\u2019s highlighting issues that seem to fall on deaf ears,\u201d he added.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Veteran\u201d follows Jose Torres (Yanko Valentin-Perez), a U.S. Marine who returns from Iraq with injuries that lead to opioid addiction and homelessness. The lead actor portraying Torres is himself a military veteran.<\/p>\n

\"\"In \u201cThe Veteran,\u201d the main character was a veteran off-screen.Photo courtesy of Wilfred La Salle<\/p>\n

\u201cThe actual actor who plays Jose is actually a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq,\u201d La Salle said. \u201cHe had a lot of valuable insight into what goes on with the VA and the benefits that they\u2019re denied and affordable housing.\u201d<\/p>\n

La Salle said \u201cThe Veteran\u201d aims to confront the realities many veterans face after returning home.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt goes from a simple back injury \u2014 one becomes two, two becomes three \u2014 and then next thing you know, you\u2019re addicted to Vicodin, you\u2019re addicted to Oxy,\u201d he said. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s a national epidemic.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the story deals with national issues, Brooklyn remained central to the production. La Salle said his familiarity with the borough and its military sites made it ideal for recreating scenes of Iraq.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking with the NYPD, we used to train in Floyd Bennett Field,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I was like, \u2018You know what? They have a lot of weird, decrepit buildings. We can kind of make it look like Iraq.\u2019 And we literally made Brooklyn look like Iraq.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of the war sequences were filmed guerrilla-style without permits, often drawing attention from passersby and law enforcement.
\n\"\"\u201cThe Veteran\u201d will premiere on Memorial Day on FOX Soul.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had some of the cops called on us because they were like, \u2018There\u2019s some guys dressed as Taliban guys and fake guns,\u2019\u201d he said with a laugh. \u201cBut the guy was nice enough. I told him, \u2018Look, I used to be on the job.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Another memorable moment came during filming of scenes in which Jose experiences homelessness in Times Square. According to La Salle, bystanders believed the production was exploiting a real unhoused veteran.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey thought I was filming a homeless person,\u201d he said. \u201cI said, \u2018Listen, I\u2019m glad you\u2019re outraged. This is exactly what we wanted to do. The villain in this film is society.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The emotional response, he said, confirmed \u201cThe Veteran\u201d was accomplishing its goal.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we wanted to show was that this person that you see sitting here could be somebody who fought for this country,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

Despite working without a traditional production crew, La Salle writes, directs, shoots and produces his films himself. He credits that DIY spirit as part of what defines his work.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re filming guerrilla style,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like we\u2019re just taking massive risks. And to me, that\u2019s where the value is.\u201d
\n\"\"La Salle said his films have no budget and are funded entirely by him.Photo courtesy of Wilfred La Salle\n<\/p>\n

Now based in Westchester County, La Salle still considers Brooklyn a creative home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the aesthetic, I love the culture, I love the people, I love the atmosphere,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s such a great and unique place to film.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

His next project, \u201cLucy,\u201d will focus on autism awareness and begin filming this summer. But for now, La Salle hopes audiences tune into \u201cThe Veteran\u201d<\/a> this Memorial Day and recognize the stories too often overlooked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe film represents every service man and woman,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m a filmmaker who shoots in New York and tries to highlight all these issues that no one seems to want to talk about.\u201d<\/p>\n