The legendary Chelsea Hotel, an icon of 1960s counterculture and an artists’ refuge for over a century, has been under renovation for the past eight years and will soon reopen as a luxury hotel. 51 people, now all in their later years, still live amidst the scaffolding. Caught between fear and frenzy, some residents prepare for imminent upheaval as others protest against the hotel’s administration or hole up in their rooms. Against this backdrop of constant change, the film explores the utopian origins that contributed to the Chelsea’s mythical stature as well as questions the challenges it confronts in the future, as its residents, sold to capitalism, and walls themselves face a turning point in their common history.
Production : Clin d’oeil films (Hanne Phlypo), Les Films de l’Oeil Sauvage
Coproduction : CBA, RTBF, VAF, VRT, Creative Europe, Eurimages, WBI, Les Films de l’Oeil Sauvage (Fr), Basalt Film (Nl), Momento Film (Se)
With the support of the Centre du cinéma et de l’Audiovisuel de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles & Tax Shelter
2022 :
Berlinale Panorama 2022, Berlin, Germany
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival – Open Horizons section, Thessaloniki, Grèce
CPH:DOX, Highlights Section, Copenhagen Denmark
Luxemburg Film Festival, Doc competition, Luxemburg
Glasgow Film Festival, Glasgow, Scotland
Docs Barcelona, Barcelone, Spain
DocAviv, Tel Aviv, Israel
Tribeca Film Festival, New York, USA
Millenium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival
Rencontres du Documentaire de Lussas, France
IDFA – Best of Fest