This week is the 2017 New Urbanism Film Festival. The festival starts on Thursday October 19 and runs through Sunday October 22. Screenings take place at the ACME Theater at 135 N. La Brea Avenue (just south of Beverly Boulevard) in Mid-City. The full schedule is available online. Purchase advance tickets online at Eventbrite.
Streetsblog L.A. caught up with festival director Josh Paget and asked him to recommend some films that readers might be interested in. The festival features plenty more films to see - on homelessness, architecture, street art, tactical urbanism, global urbanism - plus panels and tours.
Bicycle Revolution - Saturday 10/21 2 p.m.
Bicycle Revolution features interviews with bicycles advocates across the greater L.A. area. It's a great romp through the triumphs of L.A. bicycle advocacy for those familiar with the scene, and a great introduction for those who aren't as familiar with the widespread debates and challenges.
Cycologic - Sunday 10/22 6 p.m.
Kampala, Uganda, is developing, and one planner is keen on skipping the congestion and pollution of vehicles and trying to get the culture to adopt bicycles right away. Cycologic follows her interacting with communities and her confronting obstacles similar to planners everywhere.
BikeTown YYJ - Friday 10/20 7:30 p.m.
BikeTown YYJ is a fun music video parody of Macklamore's "Downtown" set in Victoria BC, aka "BikeTown." Victoria has advanced bicycle infrastructure, and this is a fun way to celebrate it rather than just explain it.
There's Always a Way - Friday 10/20 7:30 p.m.
There's Always a Way is a fun claymation about street design. Little Boy Blue grieves the loss of his grandmother who was hit by a car while crossing the street. He imagines different safety measures that would have saved her life. The claymation effects create a charming and inspiring visual of street design.
Redemption Square - Saturday 10/21 7:30 p.m.
Redemption Square explores the history of downtown Los Angeles' Pershing Square and the many, many attempts to revitalize it.
Priced Out - Saturday 10/21 3:45pm
At a time of skyrocketing racial and class tensions in America, Priced Out is an investigative and personal look at how housing prices are displacing Portland’s black community and working families all across the city. The feature-length documentary explores the complexities and contradictions of gentrification and the future of American cities.
One quick additional shout-out from SBLA editor Joe Linton: I also recommend The Longest Straw (Saturday 10/21 at 12 noon) which is an insightful California journey exploring of where Los Angeles gets water from. I had the pleasure of watching an early version of this feature documentary.
