BROOKLYN DIY (2009)

excerpt 1: beginnings

excerpt 2: the definition of a hipster

“Tracing the arrival of artists attracted by cheap real estate left languishing ever since the neighbourhood’s pre-Depression light-industrial heyday, the movie paints a picture of a diffuse scene predicated on the pursuit of fun – individual creative explorations and organic collective endeavours that playfully explored form and exhibition but neither coalesced into a recognisable school nor had much interest in doing so. But in the wake of 9/11, as its appeal rocketed from seeming suddenly safer than Manhattan as well as alluringly bohemian, Williamsburg’s rents doubled by the end of 2001, leaving many artists no option but to leave.”
Ben Walters, Guardian UK

Brooklyn DIY is a long overdue examination of the creative renaissance in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Home to underground warehouse parties, anarchistic street creativity, and artist-run galleries and performance spaces, Williamsburg gave birth to one of the most vibrant and rebellious artistic communities to arise in the 1980s, permanently changing the city’s cultural landscape. Featuring interviews with a host of artists and neighborhood characters, Ramocki’s film captures life in a utopian universe made by artists, for artists—along with its inevitable decline in the face of real estate development, gentrification, and the post–September 11 market collapse. 71 min.

Cinematography: Lalo Molina
Edit: Jessie Stead
Associate Producers: Carlton Bright, Jason Roque
Assistant Director: Jessie Stead
Production Assistants: Zoe Willoughby, Jenine Orzechowski
Sound Mix: Chris Burke

Featuring interviews with: Joe Amrhein, Daniel Aycock, Mike Ballou, Ken Butler, Don Carroll, Lauren Cornell, Ebon Fisher, Matt Freedman & Jude Talllichet, Jillian Mcdonald, Aron Namenwirth & Nancy Horowitz, Sarah Schmerler, Ward Shelley, Amy Sillman, Becky Smith, Larry Tee, Conrad Ventur and Eric Z.
Special appearances by: Medea, Gene Pool, Adam Simon, Brian & Leon Dewan, Brian Conley, Charles Beronio, Mike Smith, Lexy Grey, Golden Triangle, Tim Spelios and many more.

“Brooklyn DIY” premiered on February 25, 2009 at the Museum of Modern Art in NY.