Squatters
(Squatters)
Catalina Santamaría | Documentary
2021 | 86 minutes | United States, Colombia
Squatters follows immigrants and artists who reclaimed two abandoned buildings in NYC, transforming them into vibrant homes and hubs of creativity.
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Synopsis
At the end of the 1980s, two abandoned buildings in Manhattan’s Lower East Side were occupied by a group of young artists, many of them immigrants, who renovated them and transformed them into self-sustaining homes outside the law. Drawing from multiple archival sources, Santamaría traces the history of Puerta 10 and Umbrella House through the voices of those who lived them.
The documentary incorporates footage filmed by the squatters themselves during the renovation process, offering an intimate record of a community that built its homes by hand. Through these personal archives and testimonies, the film reflects on the fragility of collective utopias and their ongoing struggle against time, memory, and the systems that surround them.
Reviews
“If walls have ears, Catalina Santamaría is their spokesperson” — Lise Clavi, Culture aux Trousses
“It’s the living tale of a utopia…” —Mariza Bafile, Viceversa Magazine
Citation
Coming soon.
Cataloging
A MARC record for this title is not available yet.
Pragda subjects
Activism
Human Rights
Latinx
Migration Studies
Sociology
Urban Studies
Visual Arts
Keywords
Clips
Festivals
Chicago Latino Film Festival; HFFNY Havana Film Festival New York - Havana Star Prize - Special Jury Mention in Documentary; Houston Latino Film Festival; LIFFY Latino & Iberian Film Festival at Yale; MIDBO Bogotá International Documentary Film Festival; FICCALI Cali International Film Festival; AoBFF The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival; Puerto Rico Film Festival - Best International Documentary Feature; Women on Stage for Peace Festival Bogotá; Bogotá Film Festival;
PACCPA Panorama of Colombian Cinema in Paris
DIRECTOR: Catalina Santamaría
NATIONALITY: United States, Colombia
YEAR: 2021
GENRE: Documentary
LANGUAGE: English; Spanish
COLOR / B&W: Color
GRADE LEVEL: College, Adult
SUBTITLE/CC: AVAILABLE
AUDIO DESCRIPTION: NOT AVAILABLE
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