UPTOWNflavor

Rent Control: East Harlem• October 25 – 28

From October 25-28 we look take a short trip across town to East Harlem with Ed Morales and Laura’s Rivera’s film about an increasingly altered El Barrio, Whose Barrio? (2007). Following Whose Barrio? Oscar Dominguez and Juan Haro of The Movement For Justice in El Barrio, an organization cited by the Village Voice at “the Best Power to the People Movement in NYC,” Arlene Davilla, author of Barrio Dreams and Latinos, Inc. and the filmmakers will talk about the state of East Harlem in 2008. The Movement for Justice in El Barrio will also screen several of their own documentaries and we’ll celebrate the 40th anniversary of East Harlem’s own Young Lords with Iris Morales’ Palante Siempre Palante! (1996) Our East Harlem screenings conclude with Barry Shear’s 70s era crime flick Across 110th Street (1972) and Andrew Neel’s portrait of an artist as a homesteader in East Harlem, Alice Neel (2007).

Saturday, Oct. 25
7:00 pm

Whose Barrio?
Dirs. Ed Morales & Laura Rivera, 2007, 45 mins.
“El Barrio. It was a magic Spanish phrase that fell from my father’s lips, describing a place that belonged to us, even if New York didn’t belong to us. From the 50’s onward, it became the ultimate place of authenticity for Puerto Ricans and other Latinos. In the 70’s, the city went into a recession, and El Barrio went through hard times. Now, real estate speculation is threatening to change the neighborhood so that it is no longer recognizable.” – Ed Morales

Saturday, Oct. 25
8:00 pm

East Harlem Panel

Oscar Dominguez, Juan Haro, The Movement For Justice in El Barrio
Arlene Davila, Author of Barrio Dreams and Latinos, Inc.
Whose Barrio Directors, Ed Morales & Laura Rivera

Sunday, Oct. 26
6:00 pm

(All Films in Spanish and English)

March to Save Our Homes and Our Barrio
Dir. Marcos Meconi, Movement for Justice, 2007, 8 mins.
On August 26th, 2007, Movement for Justice in El Barrio lead a historic “March to Save Our Homes and Our Barrio” to stand their ground against gentrification and displacement. They marched to New York City’s Dept. Of Housing, Preservation and Development (HPD) Service Center to present prizes to the three worst landlords in East Harlem and deliver the grand prize to HPD for being ultimately responsible for failing to enforce NYC housing laws. Tenants set up an encampment at HPD to symbolize the threat of homelessness that results from the displacement of low-income communities and the destruction of affordable housing.

International Campaign in Defense of El Barrio
Dir. Salvador Pantoja and Movement for Justice, 2008, 8 mins.
Movement for Justice in El Barrio has taken the struggle against gentrification in New York City to an international level. Through the new “International Campaign in Defense of El Barrio”, they are organizing on a transnational level to combat displacement in El
Barrio (East Harlem) by building a multi-national network to go after one of their main targets, the multi-national corporation Dawnay, Day Group at their central headquarters in London and on multiple continents where they hold property.

March for Dignity and Against Displacement
Dir. Movement, 2008, 10 mins.
In a battle of David and Goliath proportions, Movement for Justice in El Barrio successfully fought back against the efforts of the multi-national British corporation Dawnay, Day’s aggressive attempts to displace tenants living in 47 East Harlem buildings. The East Harlem community marched to celebrate the recently announced demise of Dawnay, Day Group as it has fallen victim to its own greed and is
selling off its properties to cover its debt while it crashes to its ruin. They also held a rally in front of Council Member Melissa Mark Viverito’s luxury townhouse to expose her actions in supporting gentrification & displacement across Harlem.

NYC Encuentro for Dignity and Against Gentrification
Dir. Christine Peng and Movement for Justice, 2008, 30 mins.
In October of 2007, people from 26 social justice groups from around the region gathered in East Harlem for the first-ever historic “NYC Encuentro for Dignity and Against Gentrification.” Movement for Justice in El Barrio invited groups from around the city who are fighting against gentrification from the ground up to come share who they are, what problems they face, who or what is their enemy and what are their
dreams. This film tells the story of what was said. Featuring: CAAAV, FIERCE, Make the Road New York, Movement for Justice in El Barrio, UNYTE, West Side SRO Law Project.

Panel: Movement For Justice in El Barrio
Sonia Guzman, Josefina Salazar, Filiberto Hernandez and Oscar Dominguez

Sunday, Oct. 26
8:00 pm

Palante Siempre Palante!
Dir. Iris Morales, 1996, 48 mins.
Through on-camera interviews with former members, archival footage, photographs and music, the documentary surveys Puerto Rican history, the Young Lords’ political vision and actions, and the organization’s legacy.In the midst of the African American liberation struggle, protests to end the Vietnam War and the women’s movement for equality,
Puerto Rican and Latino/a communities fought for economic, racial and social justice. From Chicago streets to the barrios of New York City and other urban centers, the Young Lords emerged to demand decent living conditions and raised a militant voice for the empowerment of Puerto Ricans and other Latino/as in the United States and for the
independence of Puerto Rico.

Monday, Oct. 27
7:30 pm

Across 110th Street
Dir. Barry Shear, 1972, 102 mins.
When three stick-up men disguised as cops raid a mob pay-off meeting in Harlem, steal $300,000, and kill a handful of mobsters, they become the target of a mahunt involving a mafia boss bent on revenge, a rival group of Harlem gangsters, and two cops – an up-and-coming idealistic, black lieutenant and a middle-aged, racist white captain who must
overcome their differences to solve the crime.

Maysles Institute
343 Lenox Avenue
212-582-6050