This humorous documentary road trip centers around the slabs of the Berlin Wall that have, over the last 30 years, somehow made their way to America. Some of them are curios for the public, unceremoniously dumped and neglected, others are afforded a measure of context, and still others have been commodified as symbols of freedom in the unrelenting capitalist maw of the Mall of America or the Universal Studios lot. (There are&nbsp;two&nbsp;such monoliths in the Boston area—at the Hult International Business School and at the JFK Library.) Co-directed by Courtney Stephens (Mixed Signals) and Pacho Velez (The Reagan Show, and many shorts) who have both had previous films screened at the DocYard, this survey of memorabilia takes the form of insightful man-on-the-street interviews. These sequences are always fascinating and entertaining, but never flippant: the geographical and political reverberations of where these Wall segments are found is also a vital part of this film. Interviewees make linkages between the Berlin Wall and symbols of nationalism, a nostalgic past, and racism in America. Stephens’ and Dounia Sichov’s editing intelligently strings together complex ideas, without over-emphasizing simplistic connections. With ongoing public contestation of Confederate monuments in this country, it’s poignant and moving to consider what we’ve done to mythologize, memorialize, or forget the meaning of another iconic structural barrier.&nbsp;"The explorations undertaken by the directors Courtney Stephens and Pacho Velez in their documentary ‘The American Sector’ turn a high concept into high political drama.” - Richard Brody,&nbsp;New Yorker

The American Sector

From libraries to museums (such as the JFK Library here) to amusement parks, Courtney Stephens and Pacho Velez’s The American Sector takes viewers to various places in the United States where pieces of the Berlin Wall are displayed, maintained, and interacted with by the public, and in turn, examines American historical memory and the meanings we ascribe to objects.

Note: This Q&amp;A live stream starts a little bit after the beginning of the Q&amp;A due to some technical difficulties with Facebook Live, but you can now watch the full Q&amp;A on our YouTube channel: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTlj_ElxyxU" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTlj_ElxyxU</a>! Thanks so much for supporting The DocYard!

The American Sector Q&A with co-directors Courtney Stephens and Pacho Velez and The DocYard Curator Abby Sun

Listen in on DocYard Curator Abby Sun in conversation with The American Sector directors Courtney Stephens and Pacho Velez.

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