Coming to NYC’s Cinema Village today, Friday, November 29: SHORED UP
Ben Kalina’s look at coastal communities in the face of climate change debuted earlier this year at Montclair. It’s gone on to screen at DOXA, SF Green, Provincetown, and Sidewalk, among several other engagements, as well as to cable on DirecTV.
Kalina’s focus is on beach replenishment – where massive quantities of sand are re-introduced to coastlines that have suffered erosion – and its efficacy, or lack thereof, exploring how the US Army Corps of Engineers are fighting a seemingly neverending (and futile) battle, in part, to allow people to live on steadily vanishing beaches. Despite maps from decades ago providing stark evidence of the vanishing barrier islands along the Jersey Shore, (over)development continues, driven by real estate profit. In North Carolina, politicians are more than willing to bury their heads in the (vanishing) sands, banning the discussion of sea level rise so they can overturn environmental protections that have slowed development. The film was nearing completion when Superstorm Sandy made landfall, destroying communities and costing lives just over a year ago. In response, Kalina was able to integrate footage about its devastating aftermath, making it one of the first feature docs to cogently address the disaster and call for solutions to help prevent similar future recurrences.
what (not) to doc 