About this Event
"Gowanus Current" Film Screening & Community Discussion
This is one of a three-film series “Rezoning History” hosted by PortSide NewYork at Strong Rope Brewery. Admission is "pay what you can" with suggested donation of $15 at the door. Half goes to the filmmakers and other half is split between PortSide and New York Film and Video Council. You must RSVP here to attend.
The film "Gowanus Current" premiered April 2025 at the Cobble Hill Cinema. Over a decade, the wife Jamie Courville (director, producer, editor) and husband Chris Reynolds (director, producer, cinematographer) team documented meeting after meeting of the rezoning process and shot the glories and decay of the Gowanus as it was.
In the words of the filmmakers: "Decades of industrial waste and raw sewage have turned Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal into one of the nation’s most toxic bodies of water. The arrival of a billion dollar EPA cleanup and a massive city-led rezoning herald a new era, but what's of value in a neighborhood, and who gets to decide? Made over the course of ten years, Gowanus Current employs an unmediated, strictly observational approach to examine the convictions of this diverse community and the textures of its landscape. A portrait of activism and its limits, this is urgent civic cinema exploring the conflict engendered by a housing crisis, income inequality and a changing climate."
For those who’ve been involved in the Brooklyn Marine Terminal process, some of the jargon and process will feel familiar, and some of the same people are involved (Alexa Aviles, Marcela Mitaynes, Karen Blondel).
Looking at the three films in our “Rezoning History” series this October, a question is “will Red Hook and the Columbia Waterfront end up looking like Gowanus or like Sunset Park near Industry City?”
Many reviews (see below) get into land use discussions, as we expect will happen with our community conversation after the film. The filmmakers will be present. Co-presented by the NY Film and Video Council. Their Zachary Levy will moderate the discussion.
- The Architect’s Newspaper
- Red Hook Star Revue
- Brooklyn Downtown Star
- Jeresey City Times
Part of a 3-film series “Rezoning History” hosted by PortSide at Strong Rope Brewery:
1. Thursday, October 9, 7-9pm: “Emergent City”
2. Wednesday, October 15, , 7-9pm: “Gowanus Current”
3. Tuesday, October 21, 7-9pm: new, still un-named documentary about the current BMT process by filmmaker Rodrigo Brandão
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Strong Rope Brewery Red Hook, 185 Van Dyke Street, Brooklyn, United States
USD 0.00
