LOCAL>> Mill Valley Film Festival: Alice Street

Bursting with a rich sense of local history and artistic expression, Alice Street is crafted with great pride for the city of Oakland by Bay Area filmmaker Spencer Wilkinson (One Voice, MVFF41), documenting a downtown mural project from start to finish as it is overtaken by the construction of new high-rise condominiums.

As their identity is threatened, the locals collaborate to preserve their home. With testimony from a diverse group of artists and performers, Wilkinson passionately examines the many ways in which gentrification silences neighborhoods and breeds inequality across the system.

As we hear from those who are not included in the city’s vision of development and change, Alice Street reveals Oakland as a microcosm of what is happening across the American landscape, disproportionately affecting the sustainability of communities of color. While showing the power of art to unite communities, the film makes a plea for preserving our cities and their many voices within, and warns of the forces that aim to overrun them.

Thank you to our Community Partners Berkeley Film Foundation and MarinArts!