Gentrification is the bane of modern cities; under the veneer of revitalization, corporations push regular inhabitants from city centers to the peripheries. New York seems to be the most egregious example. Manhattan fell first, then they came for Brooklyn. Su Friedrich films this process from her Williamsburg loft, one she will be forced to abandon, suffering the fate of many other local artists, to make way for a luxury high-rise. Friedrich follows the newly rich hipsters, cataloguing their designer dogs, prams, and haircuts. She pretends to be a wealthy home hunter and at night paints wry graffiti on construction fences. She’s angry, foul-mouthed, and cheeky, and sometimes wades into ridicule, but her protest garners respect: hats off to this battlefield report.
2012 Brooklyn IFF - Nagroda publiczności / Audience Award
Su Friedrich has been making films since 1978. She is a director, producer, cinematographer, and editor. Her video and 16mm films combine elements of narrative, experimental, and documentary genres while engaging themes of feminism and building a queer identity. Friedrich’s films screen at film festivals throughout the world, ranging from Melbourne through Rotterdam, and she has had individual shows at MoMa and the Whitney Museum. She is a recipient of the Rockefeller, Guggenheim, Jerome, and NY Foundation for the Arts grants and awards.
1978 Hot Water
1979 Cool Hands, Warm Heart (kr. m. / short)
1987 Damned If You Don't (kr. m. / short)
1990 Sink or Swim (dok. / doc.)
1996 Hide and Seek (tv)
2002 The Odds of Recovery (dok. / doc.)
2004 The Head of a Pin (kr. m. / short)
2013 Wybebeszony Williamsburg / Gut Renovation