Battle for Brooklyn

Last updated
Battle for Brooklyn
Battle for Brooklyn poster.jpg
Directed by
Produced by
  • Michael Galinsky
  • Suki Hawley
  • David Beilinson
CinematographyMichael Galinsky
Music byDavid Reid, Derek Bermel, Tristeza, DJ Angola
Production
company
RUMUR. Inc with support from the Moving Picture Institute
Release date
  • April 30, 2011 (2011-04-30)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Battle for Brooklyn is a 2011 documentary that follows the stories of a Brooklyn neighborhood as the residents fight to save their homes from being destroyed by an impending real estate project. The film attempts to show the unjust outcomes that are possible when moneyed interests partner up with government entities to outweigh the rights of citizens.

Contents

Film content

Set in the years between 2003 and 2011, the story follows graphic designer Daniel Goldstein, the last defiantly remaining homeowner in his building, as he battles Bruce Ratner's Forest City real estate company and their plans to complete the Atlantic Yards Project in the Prospect Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. The massive building project – according to the filmmakers, the densest real estate development in U.S. history – required the procurement of 22 acres of land, and would bring a sports complex to house the New Jersey Nets along with 16 high-rise buildings to the heart of Brooklyn. Initially tasked with filling the behemoth 22 acre complex was architect Frank Gehry, who NPR calls "American architecture's prince of wasted space". The film documents that the land was obtained by the developers through various means including the controversial declaration of the buildings in the area as "blighted", and the utilization of eminent domain to seize land from businesses and homeowners in the proposed project area. [1]

Late 19th century brownstones in Prospect Heights, not affected by the Atlantic Yards project. Park Place Brooklyn Jan 2010.jpg
Late 19th century brownstones in Prospect Heights, not affected by the Atlantic Yards project.

Director Michael Galinsky explained that it was their intention to create an immersive experience devoid of excessive commentary by "talking heads" in order to allow the viewer some latitude to experience the events of the film for themselves. [2] The result of this immersive experience after 7 years of filming can be seen as a character study of Daniel Goldstein – in the background of the story of the formation of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn and the fight against the development, Goldstein, through the course of the filming, experiences personal triumphs and great sadness, including the death of his mother, the breakup with his fiancée, the formation of a new relationship, and the birth of his child. The film documents his "evolution from a bewildered property owner to sophisticated spokesman and property rights activist." [3]

The formation of the community activism group Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) with the help of NYC Councilmember Letitia James helped bring Goldstein's cause into the public eye, quickly gaining the support of Brooklyn-based actors like Steve Buscemi, Rosie Perez and John Turturro, and conservative columnist George Will. [1]

Production

The film, which was shortlisted for an Academy Award in 2012 for the 84th Academy Awards, [4] was produced and directed by Michael Galinsky and Suki Hawley. Hawley and Galinsky began production in 2003, when they came across a flyer explaining the protest. Galinsky started shooting the very same afternoon. [5] The film's importance extends beyond Goldstein's fight against the abuse of eminent domain, Galinsky describes the film as being "really about the people retaking narratives from the media which is faltering ... in these situations." [6] The film received its initial financing from the New York-based non-profit Moving Picture Institute. [7]

In a 2011 interview, Galinsky described the events that led to the start of filming:

I saw an article in the paper that said, "A development project is coming to Brooklyn. Hooray!" I thought, "This seems a little bit weird." I knew the area it was coming to. It seemed it was impossible. It's in the middle of playgrounds and neighborhoods. My daughter went to daycare a block from there. So, when I saw a flyer saying, "stop the project," I immediately picked it up, called the number on the flyer, and the woman who answered was Patti Hagan, who I could tell right away was an interesting character. So I started shooting that afternoon. That was eight years ago. [2]

On April 30, 2011, Battle for Brooklyn premiered in Toronto at the HotDocs Film Festival.

Critical reception

Andrew O'Hehir of Salon says of the film's appeal, "No doubt "Battle for Brooklyn" will be of most interest to New Yorkers, and particularly to people who live or work in the city's most populous borough. But the film's basic situation — local residents and community activists vs. the development schemes of major politicians and big business — is an archetypal element of urban life, one that can be found in almost any city, large or small, from Maine to California." [8]

S. James Snyder of Time Out New York writes, "Nothing propels a documentary like injustice, and Michael Galinsky and Suki Hawley's infuriating chronicle of an outer-borough David-versus-Goliath saga plays like a marathon of inequity." [9]

Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times said that although the film is "not exactly even-handed, the movie proves a deft look at a reluctant crusader and how financial sway and political override can so effectively trump the power of the average citizen." [10]

Awards and recognition

Film Festivals

Related Research Articles

Lance Bangs is an American filmmaker and music video director. He directed the David Cross film Let America Laugh. Bangs has also been heavily involved in the filming and production of MTV's Jackass television series and its subsequent movies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonas Mekas</span> Lithuanian-American filmmaker (1922–2019)

Jonas Mekas was a Lithuanian-American filmmaker, poet, and artist who has been called "the godfather of American avant-garde cinema". Mekas's work has been exhibited in museums and at festivals worldwide. Mekas was active in New York City, where he co-founded Anthology Film Archives, The Film-Makers' Cooperative, and the journal Film Culture. He was also the first film critic for The Village Voice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D. A. Pennebaker</span> American documentary filmmaker (1925–2019)

Donn Alan Pennebaker was an American documentary filmmaker and one of the pioneers of direct cinema. Performing arts and politics were his primary subjects. In 2013, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award. Pennebaker was called by The Independent as "arguably the pre-eminent chronicler of Sixties counterculture".

James Howard Hatfield was an American author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederick Wiseman</span> American documentary filmmaker

Frederick Wiseman is an American filmmaker, documentarian, and theater director. His work is primarily about exploring American institutions. In 2017, The New York Times called him "one of the most important and original filmmakers working today".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ondi Timoner</span> American film director

Ondi Doane Timoner is an American filmmaker and the founder and chief executive officer of Interloper Films, a production company located in Pasadena, California.

Horns and Halos is a 2002 documentary film directed by Suki Hawley and Michael Galinsky. The film is primarily about the difficult road the author and publisher travelled to bring Fortunate Son, a controversial biography of George W. Bush to bookshelves again. The film began when the filmmakers got a press release saying that Sander Hicks would be republishing the discredited bio. They followed the process of trying to bring the book back to shelves. After seeing the film at the Rotterdam Film Festival Matthew Tempest wrote in the Guardian, "With stunning revelations of presidential misdeeds, and the Watergate-style forces at hand to see the book is discredited, this documentary is a rolling masterclass on the disturbing complicity of media, money and mendacity."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moving Picture Institute</span>

The Moving Picture Institute (MPI) is an American non-profit organization and film production company founded in 2005 by Thor Halvorssen, who was also one of the producers for some of their movies. Its current president is Rob Pfaltzgraff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey Schwarz</span> American filmmaker

Jeffrey Schwarz is an American Emmy Award-winning film producer, director, and editor. He is known for an extensive body of documentary work including Commitment to Life, Boulevard! A Hollywood Story, The Fabulous Allan Carr, Tab Hunter Confidential, I Am Divine, Vito, Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon and Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story.

<i>Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired</i> 2008 American film

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired is a 2008 documentary film directed by Marina Zenovich. It concerns film director Roman Polanski and his sexual abuse case. It examines the events that led to Polanski fleeing the United States after being embroiled in a controversial trial, and his unstable reunion with his adopted country. A follow-up to the film, also directed by Zenovich, titled Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out was released on 26 March 2013, detailing Polanski's successful legal battle to avoid extradition to the US, a battle that took place after Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired came out.

The Brooklyn Film Festival(BFF), prior to 2011 called the Brooklyn International Film Festival(BiFF) is an independent film festival held every June in New York City. Started by Marco Ursino, Susan Mackell, Abe Schrager, and Mario Pegoraro in 1998, its mission is to “discover, expose, and promote independent filmmakers while drawing worldwide attention to Brooklyn as a center for cinema." Its base is South 4th Street, Williamsburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gail Dolgin</span> American film director

Gail Dolgin was an American filmmaker. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Daughter from Danang, and The Barber of Birmingham. Daughter from Danang also won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary.

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival is an annual non-fiction film festival held in Missoula, Montana each February. The event showcases documentary films from around the world. The festival first began in 2003 as a seven-day event. It is now a ten-day event. The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival is the largest cinema event in Montana. The festival presents an average of 150 non-fiction films annually at the historic Wilma Theater, The Top Hat, The Roxy Theater, and Crystal Theater in downtown Missoula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicolás Pereda</span> Mexican-Canadian film director

Nicolás Pereda is a Mexican-Canadian film director. To date, he has directed nine features and three short films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Brewster</span> American psychiatrist and filmmaker

Joe Brewster is an American psychiatrist and filmmaker who directs and produces fiction films, documentaries and new media focused on the experiences of communities of color.

Jeffrey Charles Ragsdale was an American author, documentary filmmaker, actor and stand-up comedian. In 2011 he posted a flyer in New York City as a "social experiment", stating his phone number and asking people to call him, describing himself as "Jeff, one lonely guy". He was overwhelmed with thousands of calls after photos of the flyer were posted on the internet. The experience led to his 2012 book Jeff, One Lonely Guy, and indirectly to a 2013 pilot episode for a reality television show, Being Noticed, and a starring role in the 2014 documentary Hotline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Galinsky</span> American filmmaker (born 1969)

Michael Galinsky is an American filmmaker, cinematographer, photographer, and musician who has produced and directed a number of documentaries, several of them in collaboration with his now-wife, Suki Hawley. With their partner David Beilinson, they run a production and distribution company called Rumur.

<i>Fray</i> (film) 2012 American film

Fray is a 2012 independent film starring Bryan Kaplan and Marisa Costa. It was written and directed by Geoff Ryan, with cinematography by Jarin Blaschke, and produced by Jodi Redmond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jill Bauer</span> American film director, writer, and journalist

Jill Bauer is a Hearst and SPJ journalist, documentarian and non-fiction author. Bauer and Ronna Gradus co-directed two documentary films, Sexy Baby (2012) and Hot Girls Wanted (2015). Bauer also authored a non-fiction humor book called From ‘I Do’ to ‘I’ll Sue’: An Irreverent Compendium for Survivors of Divorce. Sexy Baby won the Founders Prize for Best Film by a First Time Director at the 2012 Traverse City Film Festival and Hot Girls Wanted was nominated in 2015 for a Primetime Emmy and the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suki Hawley</span> American filmmaker (born 1969)

Suki Hawley is an American indie filmmaker and a partner in the production and distribution company RUMUR. Either solo or with Michael Galinsky, she has directed low-budget fictional narratives but has mostly concentrated on documentaries in recent years.

References

  1. 1 2 Jenkins, Mark. "Lawful Land Grab Sparks A 'Battle For Brooklyn'". NPR . Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  2. 1 2 Truax, Jackson. "EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH DOCUMENTARIAN MICHAEL GALINSKY: "BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN"" . Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  3. ↑ Thomas, Robert H. "Movie Review: Battle For Brooklyn" . Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  4. ↑ Feinberg, Scott (16 December 2011). "5 Must-Watch Documentaries for Oscar Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  5. ↑ Beaujon, Andrew. "Battle for Brooklyn It's not just a New York story". Web article. TBD. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  6. ↑ Truax, Jackson. "2011 Exclusive Interview With Documentarian Michael Galinsky: "Battle For Brooklyn"". interview. Tonight at the Movies. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  7. ↑ Bond, Paul. "Documentaries: Follow the Money". Article. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  8. ↑ O'Hehir, Andrew (18 June 2011). "In breaking news, Goliath beats David" . Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  9. ↑ Snyder, S. James (15 March 2012). "Battle for Brooklyn" . Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  10. ↑ Goldstein, Gary (19 August 2011). "Movie review: 'Battle for Brooklyn'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  11. ↑ Genzlinger, Neil (16 June 2011). "In Brooklyn, Pushing Back Against a Redevelopment Plan". New York Times. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.