Overshadowed: Boston’s Chinatown, 2005
In the pre-broadband video era, television was a regional medium, defined by the reach of broadcast signals. Neighborhoods could not expect their issues to be covered in depth on television. Yet, video can be an effective medium for sparking public discussion because it is rich with information and emotion.
In 2005, I produced a documentary with a class of students about the gentrification of Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood. The documentary was distributed by DVD to see if this could become an important medium for micro video audiences. The response was surprising. Chinatown residents hosted viewing parties for their neighbors and community organizations sold copies of the DVD as a fundraiser. Overshadowed: Boston’s Chinatown won a 2005 Evvy Award for Best Documentary, and was shown nationally at film festivals and conferences.