The neighborhood will tell you that at different points in its one hundred year history 322 Union Ave in Williamsburg was a bodega, an artist commune, and the only three-storey liquor store in Brooklyn. Today it is home to UnionDocs, a non-profit documentary collaborative who, working with the building’s past, have reinvented the space again. The walk-in fridge in the basement is now a recording booth. The front of the building has been wheat-pasted with a massive, architecturally-inspired poster. And the former storefront is currently outfitted as a high-definition screening room. So, nodding to the past and aiming to connect to the neighborhood today…
UnionDocs titles it’s screening series The Documentary Bodega.
Every Sunday at 7pm, a new feature-length documentary is screened. Tickets are $8. Reservations are suggested and can be made about by emailing bodega@uniondocs.org. The carefully selected films offer the opportunity to see exceptional new work in doses slightly more reasonable than prescribed in festival environments. The last Sunday of every month focuses on the art of sound documentary, showcasing experimental works from award-winning audio producers. Complimentary tropical fruit ice cream from Mimo’s are served straight from the grocery freezer, too.
Sophie Fiennes, who screened her newest film The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema in the series, wrote us that “It is these kinds of screenings that I really like… as I believe in the collective event of cinema… its how I prefer to see films myself at any rate.”
The Documentary Bodega hopes to become an important space for dialogue and critical response. The intimate scale of the venue which seats 50 allows for engaging post-presentation conversations. As often as possible, discussions include the filmmaker and the entire commentary—including the audience responses—is be recorded. This media is edited into short video pieces and distributed freely to a broader audience through the UnionDocs podcast and blog.
