Film Screening: Gowanus Current

Join us for a screening of Gowanus Current (Jamie Courville, Chris Reynolds, 2025), a film about people, pollution, planning, and real estate along the most toxic 1.8 miles of water in America.

Decades of industrial waste and raw sewage have turned Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal into one of the nation’s most polluted bodies of water. The arrival of a billion dollar EPA cleanup and a massive, city-led rezoning herald a new era—but what is truly of value in a neighborhood, and who gets to decide?

Shot over the course of ten years, Gowanus Current employs a strictly observational, direct-cinema approach to examine the convictions of this diverse community and the textures of its landscape. A documentary portrait of activism and its limits, the film is urgent civic cinema, exploring conflicts driven by the housing crisis, income inequality, and a changing climate.

Event Timeline
1:45 PM – Doors open
2:00 PM – Film begins
3:30 PM – Post-film discussion (speakers TBA)
4:00 PM – Event ends

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.