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.

Keywords
squatters,okupas,catalina santamaria,documentary,brooklyn,new york,squatters/okupas,catalina santamaría,ricardo león peña villa,josé osorio,mario bustamante,tauno biltsted,geanme marín,isabel angel,orlando godoy,steven ashmore,siobhan meow,juan salazar,geerte frenken,carolyn ratcliffe,housing,squatters,community,artists,immigration,united states,colombia,lower east side,new york city,manhattan,1980s,1990s,urban squatting,migrant communities,latin american diaspora,collective living,cooperative housing,informal housing,alternative housing,urban activism,housing rights,housing justice,gentrification,urban renewal,diy architecture,autonomous spaces,self-managed housing,counterculture,bohemian lifestyle,artistic communities,archival footage,home movies,oral history,community storytelling,radical housing movements,property law,eviction,urban history,migration studies,migrant studies,immigration studies,refugee studies,diaspora studies,resettlement studies,settlement studies,migration,migrant,immigration,refugee,diaspora,resettlement,settlement,refugees,international migration,continental migration,resettling,settlers,settler,migrant,migrant studies,first generation immigrant,first generation immigration,new americans,new spaniards,visual arts,painting,drawing,printmaking,filmmaking,craft,crafts,architecture,ceramics,photography,video,videomaking,film,conceptual art,installation art,art exhibits,artmaking,photos,videography,sculpting,sculpture,theatre,theater,music,musicmaking,music performance,art styles,art history,plastic arts,fine art,fine arts,visual arts centers,visual arts education,jewelry,jewelrymaking,beaux arts,graphic arts,graphic design,abstract art,art galleries,art gallerist,galleries,gallery,gallerist,gallerists,illustration,activism,activist,digital activism,advocacy,advocate,involvement,militancy,militant,logrolling,striking,boycotting,championing,champion,effecting change,engagement,supporter,protest,protester,demonstrator,organizing,labor organizing,revolution,revolutionary,community organizing,effecting change,striking,labor strike,labor organizing,sociology,anthropology,psychology,sociological,sociological perspectives,conflict theory,human conflicts,sociological thinking,conflict perspective,topics in sociology,sociology topics,sociology studies,social studies,people and cultures,human relations,human relationships,cultural studies,culture studies ,urban studies,urbanism,community development,communities,urbanization,civic centers,satellite cities,residential areas,gentrification,barrioization,boomtown,bedroom communities,city block,city center,community displacement,white flight,walkability,zoning,housing,incorporated areas,unincorporated areas,suburbs,exurbs,inner cities,inner city,conservation ,human rights,public rights,equal rights,freedom of expression,basic human rights,united nations,activism,human rights activism,human rights council,human rights commission,universal human rights,universal rights,latinx,latin american,latino,latina,latin american people,hispanic,hispanic people,hispanic people,chicano,chicana,latine,latinx heritage,afro-latinx; "Squatters"; Pragda Films; "Squatters";
Clips
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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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