THE AMERICAN SECTOR
a film by Courtney Stephens & Pacho Velez
FEATURE PRESENTATION
SCREENING JUNE 24–27, 2021
AVAILABLE IN ATLANTIC CANADA
2020 / USA / 67 mins
For nearly 30 years, the Berlin Wall was a prominent physical manifestation of social and ideological conflict. It separated East from West, capitalist from communist, and entrenched two competing visions of freedom and prosperity backed by world powers far removed from the realities of those living in its shadow. Though the Wall has now been gone for as long as it stood, directors Courtney Stephens and Pacho Velez explore in their documentary The American Sector whether its fundamental divisions were not so readily demolished. The pair travels across America, visiting segments of the Wall that were salvaged and shipped overseas to become public monuments, personal collectibles, corporate lobby decorations, and more. Through incisive editing and picturesque 16mm photography, their conversations with tourists and historians and passers-by enrich a simple travelogue conceit into a moving meditation on what we memorialize and how that can be used to bring people together or keep them apart. —Zack Miller
TRAILER
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
Courtney Stephens
Courtney Stephens is a nonfiction and experimental filmmaker, whose work focuses on language and geography. Her films have appeared at the international film festivals of New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai, San Francisco, Dhaka and elsewhere. She was a Fulbright scholar to India, and previously assisted Terrence Malick.
Pacho Velez
Pacho Velez directs nonfiction films. His previous features have played at the New York Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and on CNN. His first feature, Manakamana, won a Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival (2013). Pacho received his MFA from CalArts, and teaches filmmaking at The New School (NYC).