- Welcome to POV.
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut.
Tonight, we bring you a film that's been called
the best New York City documentary in years.
The film is called Emergent City
and is set in a seaside neighborhood
called Industry City,
a huge industrial complex near the water
in the Sunset Park area of Brooklyn.
Sunset Park is a racially-mixed, working-class neighborhood
known for still having good union jobs.
The hardworking people of this region of Brooklyn
face all the problems that come with new development
and rehabbed buildings.
The story explores the inner workings of real estate deals,
local politicians, as well as the voices
of concerned neighborhood residents,
many of whom face rising rents and overpriced retail
that comes with the territory
when a neighborhood is gentrified,
in many cases forcing residents to leave their homes.
Many new condos in newly-developed areas
typically are just investments that people sit on
rather than actually live in, giving an almost ghostlike feel.
But these Brooklynites choose to fight back
by forming a multi-generational and multi-cultural coalition,
which consists primarily of the working class
along with millennials and progressive Gen Zers.
These citizens come together, if not to completely turn back
corporate momentum toward development,
at least to check it and save what they can.
They hope to influence city council members
as well as developers.
The city government is caught in the middle.
The challenge, as always, is to facilitate development
and make the area appealing to investors
while also trying to keep voters happy.
Emergent City is directed
by Kelly Anderson and Jay Arthur Sterrenberg.
Both directors bring residential authenticity to the film,
as they are Brooklyn based.
The directors use atypical aerial shots of New York City
that showcase its gritty beauty.
Anderson and Sterrenberg give us an up-close look
at a microcosm of American democracy,
thanks in part to Anderson having lived the story.
She moved to Sunset Park
because she was priced out of her previous Brooklyn 'hood.
She watched as the transformation
of her new neighborhood took place,
and decided to roll her camera along with Sterrenberg
to track progress over 10 years.
In a recent interview,
Anderson talked about the observational style
of the documentary they chose where there is no narrator,
opting to let the picture tell the story.
Anderson credits this observational style
for helping them gain access to developers and politicians,
who are typically more hesitant to appear on camera
in a doc like this.
Anderson said it was their ability
to get all perspectives from all sides
that made the film more appealing to ITVS.
Sterrenberg say the film's theme is quite simple.
Emergent City is about showing up
and being part of the democratic process.
Let's form a coalition of our own now,
one that celebrates a documentary
about concerned citizens who fight to prevent $25 burgers
and $20 cocktails from taking over their neighborhood.
Emergent City starts now on PBS Wisconsin,
your home for independent film.