Flag Wars

Dirs. Linda Goode Bryant & Laura Poitras (2003) 87 min.

Shot over a four-year period, Linda Goode Bryant’s and Laura Poitras’ Flag Wars is a poignant and very personal look at a community in Columbus, OH, undergoing gentrification. What happens when gay white homebuyers move into a working-class black neighborhood? As the new residents restore the beautiful but run-down homes, black homeowners must fight to hold onto their community and heritage. The inevitable clashes expose prejudice and self-interest on both sides, as well as the common dream to have a home to call your own. Winner of the Jury Award at the South by Southwest Film Festival, Flag Wars is a candid, unvarnished portrait of privilege, poverty and local politics taking place across America.

After the Movie: 

“The first round of gentrification is carried out by artists and gay and lesbian folks” – debate, discuss. Panelists TBA.