The Lights
Director & Producer.
I first came across the story of the Manhattan Avenue business owners' effort to revive Greenpoint's holiday lights on Greenpointers.com: Every year, the local shop owners pool their own money to string lights down the avenue. But this year they weren't sure they could pull it off. I brought on my friend Graham to shoot and co-produce, and we set out to document the people behind the effort. Anchored by an interview with a local Greenpoint historian, the film weaves together the voices of the shop owners keeping the tradition alive — and the unlikely benefactor who stepped in to help make it happen.
The film helped the effort gain traction. The following year they raised the funds to do it again, and the lights are still going strong to this day. What started as a local story has only become more relevant — a neighborhood asking what it's willing to fight for as the world around it changes.