Rust & Reckoning: The Legacy of the Barclays Center
Director: Charlie Hoxie
Crew:Cinematographers: Nathan Fitch, Derek Howard; Editor: Charlie Hoxie; Production Company: BRIC TV
Email:festivals@bricartsmedia.org
Synopsis
LOGLINE: Two decades after the controversial Barclays Center transformed Brooklyn, supporters and critics debate its legacy - was it a beacon of progress or a blueprint for broken promises?
DESCRIPTION: In 2003, an ambitious project was announced to bring the first professional sports team to Brooklyn since 1957, along with a sports arena and over a dozen massive new buildings. Despite community opposition, the Barclays Center opened a decade later to house the Brooklyn Nets, though some of the promises that came with the project have yet to materialize. Over two decades later, perspectives are collected from its critics and advocates in an effort to understand the implications of massive urban development: who wins, who loses, and what is remembered.
Trailer
About the director
Charlie Hoxie is a filmmaker and editor based in Brooklyn. As a staff producer for BRIC TV, he has won three New York Emmy awards for his work. His feature directorial debut, The Grand Unified Theory of Howard Bloom, premiered at DOC NYC in 2019.
Filmmaker's note
This project represents an effort to document the complicated history and legacy of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The idea came about at the 10th anniversary of the arena's opening - to speak to those both for and against the project, and consider what fears surrounding it actually materialized. Additionally, we sought opinions from the general public to intersperse amongst those with intimate knowledge of the Barclays Center and the Atlantic Yards Project of which it was a part. The resulting short film is hopefully seen as an honest and entertaining look at the transformation of a borough, and the multitude of opinions that can go along with it. We hope the film will spark a new dialogue surrounding large scale development projects in NYC, and the lessons we as citizens can learn from the Atlantic Yards Project in order to take an active role in shaping the future of our communities.