Bushwick and Liberacion Film Festivals
Last post was about the Liberacion Film Festival now let's take it to Brooklyn for the Bushwick Film Festival. I got to Syndicated Bar Kitchen(one of the most underrated venues in Brooklyn) and caught the opening film segment which included documentary films like Not In My Neighborhood and The Infamous Future. Both documentaries have similar themes such as mistreatment of people of color, sudden change in environment and where to go to from there. The Infamous Future is a documentary based in New York about seven neighborhoods where about 75% of inmates are from and the civic organization in which is trying to change that around with various programs. The storylines of how and why the organization was created is compelling. To witness how kids in these communities are treated by not only the city but their own environment is shocking to say the least. The fact I did not know this was astonishing because I would have never believe the numbers until now. The director, Richard Butterworth made sure that the individuals involved and the communities are represented in a light that would make any visiting tourist think twice about visiting. I applaud the effort and the message that the documentary makes I hope anyone that watches it gets a better understanding on how black and brown communities in New York are truly treated and help with the change.
Not In My Neighborhood is a documentary about how gentrification affects three cities: New York, Sao Paolo and Cape Town. Three major cities and each have their own story of how gentrification affects not only the communities that is being moved away from their foundation but the people who may move into those communities too. Each city is showed in a way where the people who were in the community before still struggling to make ends meet and seem somewhat comfortable in their surroundings but being moved because it's becoming a hotbed for corporations to put high end retail and buildings. The worst to my viewing was Cape Town where people were being pushed miles from their hometown. The government comes up with so many ways to tell the people to leave that when they don't heed then the tactics come out to push them out. Not to be biased because I see this all over New York City but it shows that when money is involved anyone including would do whatever it can without regards to others. Sao Paolo is along the same lines as Cape Town but with a little force. I could talk about New York but that would kill the vibe of this piece. My advice is to go see the documentary yourself and develop your own interpretation and use it where you see it fits. Not In My Neighborhood is a needed documentary for these times especially with immigrants coming into these cities and not realizing what's going on or the people whose families are in those places for generations and have no where else to turn to.