A series of screenings at the site of Occupy Buffalo from October 2011 until February of 2012 when the camp was dismantled after failed negotiations with the city and the cops.  Occupy Buffalo was perhaps unique amongst the Occupy encampments in several respects – unlike the Zuccotti occupation it was more centrally located in the Niagara Square park in front of Buffalo’s City Hall.  Occupy Buffalo also enjoyed a relatively good relationship with the city and the police and was able to use city power outlets in the park and city-provided porta-johns for the duration of the encampment.  In November, Occupy Buffalo signed a formal agreement with the city to abide by certain regulations in exchange for being allowed to maintain the encampment.  At this point the Occupiers also installed a semi-permanent 20-foot geodesic dome, where we screened our series.

Our intention was to show work that related to the struggles of direct democracy, protest-as-performance, and creative response to state repression.  We are grateful to Tony Conrad, who allowed us to access his personal collection to select titles for the screenings.

Organized by Liz Flyntz and Anna Scime