May 20th & May 21st, 7:30p
$10
(Partly sponsored by Third World Newsreel)
Maysles Cinema
343 Lenox Ave, bet 127th and 128th

Home is a concept that is material, emotional and political. At the heart of the most recent economic collapse, the loss of homes became a major concern, not only from the perspective of people’s inabilityto secure shelter, but also in how within the context of the american dream losing a home became analogous to losing the promise of the capitalist might.

The lack of a home may be different than a lack of home; this series addresses the meaning of home and the definitions individuals, cities, nations and cultures work with when referring to such concept. Themes of displacement, (im)migration, uneven development, autonomous spaces, architecture and memory are recurring in the program.

Curated by denisse andrade

 

++MAY 20++
Featuring a conversation with Rob Robinson, of Picture the Homeless, filmmakers and others TBA.

DOÑA ANA, Animation; 2min (2006)
Marlon Vásquez Silva, David Sanchez, Colombia
Ana is a woman who sells medicinal plants in the city of Medellín ,Colombia. While she eats strawberries and talks about their properties, we find out much more.

HERE TO STAY, Documentary; 7min (2008)
Mansee Kong, USA
Illustrates the effects of gentrification in Manhattan’s Chinatown as an elderly man and fellow tenants in an endangered single-room occupancy building await the results of an anti-eviction lawsuit

CUSPS, Documentary; 14min (2008)
Sara Zia Ebrahimi, USA
In this personal documentary Sara Zia Ebrahimi explores her experiences living as an urban nomad and immigrant in the post-industrial landscape of Philadelphia.

The documentary first began exploring the role artists play in gentrification.

FOUR PLACES CALLED HOME, Documentary; 4 min (2008)
Simone Viger, Canada
Do you know the history of your home? How much of the past can be read? This portrait of a neighborhood travels to four different reconverted buildings in the South West region of Montreal, presenting varied notions of home.

TACTICAL TOURIST, 14min (2007)
Dara Greenwald, USA
A DIY portrait of the squatting movement in Barcelona, Spain. A tourist walks through the city led by squatters – the tour points out buildings turned from abandoned or speculative properties into communal homes and radical cultural spaces.

DEAR NEIGHBOR, Video letter; 7min (2006)
Cristian Bermudez, Costa Rica/Norway
An ordinary house in an ordinary suburb was painted in white and fuchsia color stripes. A year later, a letter was sent to the neighbors explaining the reasons for this choice. The same letter was used as script for this film that deals with issues such as identity, immigration and the use of art out of the white cube.

2 HOME MOVIES, Experimental documentary; 9min (2009)
Masha Godovannaya, Russia
One can say with some certainty that all of us,with cameras–
have shot home movies in their lives.Now, imagine how a home movie would look like if it was shot inWarsaw Ghetto at the beginning of 1940s by a German worker during this vacation…

NO PLACE LIKE HOME, PSA. 1min (2009)
Supafriends, Global Action Project; USA
A public service announcement focusing on homelessness among LGBTQ youth.

++MAY 21++

ICIT ET LA-BAS (HERE AND THERE), Documentary; 20min (2003)
Natalia Rodriguez, Colombia
A n immigrant couple in France see their daughters becoming French. In this home of double culture, hopes of going back still exist.

THE COST OF SEPARATION, Documentary, 9min (2009)
Liz Miller Canada

“The Cost of Separation” highlights the daily effects of prolonged separation from family members on three parents with refugee status in Canada.

STILL, Documentary; 18min (2009)
Alana Kakoyiannis, Cyprus
A poetic documentary reflecting on the notion of home through
the lens of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriotdisplacement on the divided island of Cyprus. The testimonies of twofemale voices living on opposing sides of the Green Line combined with the filmmaker’s own observations of the present day, capture the potency ofthe political conflict through personal perspectives.

DISILLUSIONMENT, Video portraits;12min (2007)
Voices of Women Media, The Netherlands
Migrant women flee their homelands in search of a new country offering security,freedom and peace. They leave families and their cultures behind for a chance to improve their political and personal situations.

In February 2007, undocumented migrant women residing illegally in a housing shelter in The Netherlands were given media tools to create six intimate videoportraits offering a brief glimpse into this transient period oftheir lives.

STEEL HOMES, Documentary; 10min (2008)
Eva Weber, UK
A poetic exploration of memory and loss, Steel Homes takes the viewer inside the world of a self-storage warehouse, uncovering the hiddent treasures and secrets behind closed doors.

WARM PLACE TONIGHT, Documentary, 7min (1996)
Nic Bettauer, USA
This film documents two homeless men’s Sisyphean struggle to safe the life of their friend on the streets of downtown Los Angeles. The film expresses the men’s feelings of helplessness, hopelessness and powerlessness tied to their grief, loss and homelessness.

LEAVING EL BARRIO, Documentary, 5min (1997)
Beni Matias, USA
A look at what happens when a family loses their home in Spanish Harlem.