Open/Closed: Exploring Vacant Property in St. Louis to Open with Spanish Lake Documentary

Open/Closed: exploring vacant property in St. Louis (April 18-23) will kick off with an exclusive sneak peek of the documentary film Spanish Lake. The screening will offer extended clips of the film in progress and will open the Shuttered Film Fest, a series of films focused on issues related to vacancy and urban change. Spanish Lake native and director Phillip Andrew Morton and producer Matt Jordan Smith will attend and lead an open discussion following the screening. Shuttered will feature four films and Open/Closed will present five days of panel discussions and presentations. Additional details to be released. Visit Open/Closed 2011 to review last year’s event.

Venue: Tivoli Theatre, 6350 Delmar Boulevard
Date/Time: Wednesday, April 18 / 7:30 p.m.
Cost: FREE

Previous nextSTL.com article: Spanish Lake and the Middle Class Exodus from North St. Louis County
Additional information from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (A son of Spanish Lake returns to do a movie about changes there):

Phillip Andrew Morton has made two trips since 2007 to the house at 1238 Maple Street where he grew up. On both occasions, he was shocked at the profound changes the little frame house had undergone in a matter of a few years.

Morton, 32, is now an independent filmmaker based in Los Angeles. The rapid transformation of the north St. Louis County community he calls his hometown, though it has never been incorporated, forms the basis of his documentary, "Spanish Lake."