Human Rights Through Education is proud to announce that, for our upcoming conference, "Human Rights in Urban America," we feature director/producers Jen Senko and Fiore Derosa to screen and discuss their new documentary film: THE VANISHING CITY.
"Global trends in major cities around the world have changed rapidly in the last several decades. As cities become more interconnected, and less dependent on localized economic models, domestic issues of increased class inequality and sustainability have emerged as central components to city planning debates. These trends are perhaps best exemplified in the city of New York.
Told through the eyes of tenants, city planners, business owners, scholars, and politicians, The Vanishing City exposes the real politic behind the alarming disappearance of New York’s beloved neighborhoods, the truth about its finance-dominated economy, and the myth of “inevitable change.” Artfully documented through interviews, hearings, demonstrations, and archival footage, the film takes a sober look at the city’s “luxury” policies and high-end development, the power role of the elite, and accusations of corruption surrounding land use and rezoning. The film also links New York trends to other global cities where multinational corporations continue to victimize the middle and working classes."
-from The Vanishing City Website http://www.vanishingny.org/
The Vanishing City was the opening film for the Harlem Film Festival 2010, where it received the award for Best Short Documentary. The film was also awarded Best Feature Documentary Film at the 2010 Williamsburg International Film Festival. The film also won an Honorable Mention in the Los Angeles International Film Festival.
About the filmmakers:
FIORE DEROSA
Fiore DeRosa is a long time lower Manhattan resident and an award winning film and theater director. His film “Distraction”, which he wrote, directed and produced won third prize in the Zoie Film Festival, and is currently in online distribution with “REAL”, and rated one of the top 100 viewed films. His recent film, “After The Tango”, which he wrote and directed, has just finished post-production and is soon to be in the film festival circuit. He was the Founder and Creative Director of The Abraxxas Theater in New York City, and previously the Managing Director of Hunger Theater of Philadelphia. With Hunger Theater, his production of “American Buffalo” won The Golden Cockerel Award for best play in the 2000 Edinburgh film festival.
JEN SENKO
Jen Senko is an award-winning filmmaker and a long-time Soho resident. She graduated on the Dean’s List from Pratt Institute. Senko’s first documentary, “Road Map Warrior Women”, won recognition with several festival awards, including Certificate of Merit Finalist from the 2000 Houston Film Festival and the Special Jury Award from the 2001 Brooklyn Film Festival. Subsequently, Jen was a guest on the panel for the “Women Who Rock” symposium sponsored by CineWomen. Over the past ten years she’s been involved in writing, directing, producing, casting and shooting. She started her LLC, JSenko Productions, in order to produce a number of independent films, including “Downsizing of the Gods” written by Lynwood Sawyer and DP’d by Abe Schrager (“Dead Man Walking”, “The Hours”, “Sex in the City”, etc.). In fall 2006 she was the casting director for the Latino short “La Chiva” which was picked by a panel of blue ribbon judges (including famed director Robert Rodriguez) to be one of three finalists in a high-profile contest sponsored by Mercury/Ford. Senko directed a two-minute short in November 2006 called “Jesus Cares. Guess Who Doesn’t.”
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
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