Screen/Society -- Diamonstein-Spielvogel Series: Films of Laura Poitras -- "Flag Wars"

Film Screening -- "Flag Wars" (Linda Goode Bryant/Laura Poitras, 2003, 90min, USA, in English, DVD) -- This Peabody Award-winning documentary directly profiles the problems caused by gentrification in a Columbus, Ohio urban community. An influx of white, gay homebuyers threatens to displace black working-class families, but at the same time, this area is providing the incoming gay community with a space to live-out dreams of their own. Raw emotionality from the film's subjects are countered by the documenters' unflinching, clear-eyed approach. Flag Wars goes from porch conversations and family gatherings to public hearings and street protests in order to capture a full range of perspectives and arguments. -- First of three films leading up to the October 24th conversation between Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel and Laura Poitras in the Nasher Museum Auditorium at 6:00pm.