Gentrification has become a major issue in many cities across the U.S. but can be hard to picture unless you’ve seen the changes first-hand. For many native New Yorkers, this means the loss of local businesses and being priced out of their neighborhoods. Watching this happen, Ian Phillips was inspired to make his feature documentary, There Goes the Neighborhood.
Ian Phillips defines gentrification himself as “people’s lives being affected by the encroachment of the wealthy.” Talking with him, he made it clear he doesn’t believe it’s a people issue but an economic one. The documentary focuses on stories of New Yorkers fighting for the ability to stay in their neighborhood and to keep local businesses open. The core message he hopes people take away is, “Things are not hopeless … It’s not defined by politicians. It’s not defined by corporations. It’s defined by people uniting and fighting back.” The theme of people uniting permeates the stories of the film and reflects Phillips’ process of making it.
Phillips fell in love with documentary filmmaking while attending the School of Visual Arts and firmly believes that in order to do it, you have to connect with people. “I think everything is about relationships. I just think the more that you can show people that you care about them off-camera, the more than they’ll open up to you on camera. You really need to show them that what you’re doing is going to be worth their time. And the way you do that is just by showing that you care about them as people first and not just as subjects that you’re filming.”
His knack for connecting with people is reflected in the film when it comes to Dannelly Rodriguez, one of the films, main subjects. Phillips started the documentary focusing on small businesses struggling to stay open. After further research, he recognized corporations as a major factor in the issue which led to meeting Rodriguez. Donnelly Rodriguez is an activist from Queens who kept Phillips updated on rallies, protests, and community meetings happening in in the area.
From there, he brought his camera to events and captured as much of it as he could. While many documentary filmmakers have shot in places that were uncomfortable or cramped, Phillips had the opposite experience. “I think cameras in spaces of activism and protests are actually pretty common. I think a lot of people are documenting these things. So in a way, it’s a pretty easy way to blend in.”
As he continued filming in Queens, he did what he suggests all documentary filmmakers do and hopped on social media. “If you follow the right people out on social media you’re going to find out who is who, and people are just much more accessible that way.” Through social media he found out about the other major story of the film which took him to the Lower East Side where there was pushback against a new high-rise.
Phillips followed the community and group efforts for years and was still out filming the moment when COVID hit in 2020. While most of the world was shut down, he was still shooting because activists don’t stop. Unsure how it tied into the overall story, he was unsure how to put everything together until talking to his editor, Cedar Daniels. He describes this as typical of his documentary process, to just shoot and figure out the story later. A major contribution to the story Daniels gave was the idea to divide the film into chapters. “It’s very difficult to make a film about different things. It’s all under the umbrella of gentrification, but the stories are so different. The timelines can be a little bit unclear, taking place in different parts of the city. So what he was able to do is place them into what he called buckets. And he came up with these chapter headings that I thought make them thematically work. I give all credit to him.”
The film ultimately calls for the viewer to grow closer to their own community and support the small shops and locals that have built it and give it its character. Maybe the message hits so hard because that’s what Phillips did to make the documentary. His passion and life experience led to him building connections and growing closer to communities throughout the city.
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