Phantom Heritage

The Battle of New Orleans: A Meaningful Victory

January 2015 •English

The Battle of New Orleans: A Meaningful Victory explores how the British misjudged their opponent and miscalculated the complexities of the battle ground. It also describes why the multi-cultural population of New Orleans proved the naysayers wrong about their loyalties to a young nation. WYES Community Projects Producer Marcia Kavanaugh and Tom Gregory hosted and produced this documentary.

Flag Wars

May 2003 •English

Filmed over four years, this documentary focuses on the impacts of gentrification as gay white professionals move into a largely black working-class neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio.

Antídots per a un paradís fake

July 2021 •Catalan

The twelfth edition of the International Meeting of Collective Architectures was held in Palma de Mallorca, in the neighborhoods of La Soledat, Nou Llevant and Es Molinar, at the end of September 2019. The meeting focused on the imposition of false paradises and the description of the current mechanisms of urban transformation that expel people from their neighborhoods.

William Penn and the Quakers (Pennsylvania Colony) (Revised)

January 1982 •English

Describes the Quakers' struggle for religious freedom and the founding of the Pennsylvania colony, under the leadership of William Penn. Describes the colony's belief in freedom of speech and religion, and in the equality of all. Explains why Pennsylvania prospered.

I Remember a Time When No One Jogged in This Neighbourhood

October 2021 •

With its fluid arrangement of black and white scenes paired with an immersive soundscape, Je me souviens d’un temps où personne ne joggait dans ce quartier is a celebration of the many faces of Park Extension. The film provides a glimpse inside a festive cultural gathering; the workshop of a meticulous artisan; and an alley where a young cyclist is learning to ride. With her restrained approach, the filmmaker hints little by little at a seemingly inevitable transformation, while the relentless onset of gentrification threatens the social fabric of a neighbourhood. After a critically acclaimed detour into audio documentary, Jenny Cartwright returns to the evocative force of images to evoke a rich and diverse community.

Cruel Architecture, a Tool of Gentrification

December 2021 •English

A short documentary shot in November 2021 in Berkeley. It reflects on the ethos of privatization in American culture and how public spaces are being built to exclude people through cruel architecture. The context used is the gentrification circle around the University of California Berkeley intended to build student housing. An eye-opening journey that explores structures and elements you would never have stopped at.

The Iron Triangle: Willets Point and the Remaking of New York

November 2017 •English

Targeted for several failed redevelopment plans dating back to the days of Robert Moses, Willets Point, a gritty area in New York City known as the “Iron Triangle,” is the home of hundreds of immigrant-run, auto repair shops that thrive despite a lack of municipal infrastructure support. During the last year of the Bloomberg Administration, NYC’s government advanced plans for a “dynamic” high-end entertainment district that would completely wipe out this historic industrial core. The year is 2013, and the workers of Willets Point are racing against the clock to forestall their impending eviction. Their story launches an investigation into New York City’s history as the front line of deindustrialization, urban renewal, and gentrification.

Ramps to Nowhere

September 2018 •English

A film about the cross coalition of communities that stopped a planned network of freeways from being built in Seattle in the late 60s and early 70s. It weaves together archival material with the filmmaker's personal narrative about living next to freeways, and features interviews with participants from the freeway revolt.

This House Is Not A Home

August 2015 •English

A short documentary about gentrification and tenant activism in one Toronto neighbourhood, "This House Is Not A Home" presents a poignant and informative look into resident experiences in Parkdale.

Um breve respiro democrático

June 2025 •Portuguese

We Came to Sweat

January 2014 •English

Facing eviction the oldest black-owned gay bar in Brooklyn relies on a passionate community in its fight for survival.

Gut Renovation

March 2013 •English

Su Friedrich's personal essay charting the destruction of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. After living in the neighborhood for 20 years, the filmmaker was one of many who were forced out after the city passed a rezoning plan allowing developers to build luxury condos where there were once thriving industries, working-class families, and artists. Filmed over many years, it is a scathing portrait of one neighborhood's demolition and transformation.

Rabble Rousers: Frances Goldin and the Fight for Cooper Square

December 2022 •English

In 1959 New York City announced a "slum clearance plan" by Robert Moses that would displace 2,400 working class and immigrant families, and dozens of businesses, from the Cooper Square section of Manhattan's Lower East Side. Guided by the belief that urban renewal should benefit - not displace - residents, Frances Goldin and her neighbors formed the Cooper Square Committee and launched a campaign to save the neighborhood. Over five decades they fought politicians, developers, white flight, government abandonment, blight, violence, arson, drugs, and gentrification - cyclical forces that have destroyed so many working class neighborhoods across the US. Through tenacious organizing and hundreds of community meetings, they not only held their ground but also developed a vision of community control. Fifty three years later, they established the state's first community land trust - a diverse, permanently affordable neighborhood in the heart of the "real estate capital of the world."

My Brooklyn

January 2013 •English

Director Kelly Anderson's personal journey as a Brooklyn 'gentrifier' to understand the forces reshaping her neighborhood along lines of race and class. The film reframes the gentrification debate to expose the corporate actors and government policies driving displacement and neighborhood change.

El apagón: Aquí vive gente

September 2022 •Spanish

“El apagón: Aquí vive gente” is a 23-minute film that explores the socio-economic challenges in Puerto Rico, focusing on the effects of power outages and gentrification driven by the real estate and energy sectors. Through visuals and personal stories, the documentary highlights the experiences of Puerto Rican communities facing these issues.

Empire St. Pauli on Strings of Pearls and Sending-Offs

April 2009 •German

In the global competition between cities, Hamburg is competing with other metropolises. Urban development should ensure favorable location factors for companies, investors, and tourism, and the last gaps in the so-called “string of pearls” along the banks of the Elbe are being closed to enhance the city's image. Over 50 interviews were conducted for the film. No external experts were consulted. A wide variety of St. Pauli residents have their say: residents, employees, artists, restaurateurs, master brewers, major investors, social workers, hoteliers, lawyers, the district administrator, and many more. Thus, beyond the red-light district, petty criminals, and poor people clichés, the film presents a diverse spectrum of opinions.

La Alameda 2018

November 2020 •Spanish

One Big Home

July 2017 •English

On the tiny island of Martha's Vineyard, where presidents and celebrities vacation, trophy homes threaten to destroy the islands unique character. Twelve years in the making, One Big Home follows one carpenters journey to understand the trend toward giant houses. When he feels complicit in wrecking the place he calls home, he takes off his tool belt and picks up a camera.

The Lone Piper

August 2025 •English

In the midst of the Seven Years' War, a company of hardened soldiers force their young bagpipe player into battle, only to discover that their enemy is not what they expected.

Ayi

October 2020 •French

Ayi comes from a rural area of Eastern China and doesn’t have the residential permit that would allow her to work in Shanghai. Yet, she has been cooking in the streets for twenty years, in an old neighbourhood soon to be demolished. The film unveils the chaos of an ultra-modern city aiming to wipe out so-called substandard practices and to deport an unwanted population.