A Short Film on the Lippitt Hill Neighborhood Redevelopment Project

Rochambeau’s Summer Artists in Residence Melanie Hicken and Christopher Ransom will show their film on displacement, An Exercise in Preparation for the Film ‘What’s Wrong with the World,’ which explores the history of the Lippitt Hill Neighborhood Redevelopment Project.

During the project, which took place between 1959 and 1971, roughly 650 units in Lippitt Hill were destroyed, with 450 of them (about 70%)  occupied by non-White residents. The neighborhood was replaced with the University Heights housing complex and a supermarket (Whole Foods on N. Main Street, today).

The film uses archival material and new audiovisual recordings to tell the story of a controversial Providence “urban renewal” project, the results of which are still being felt today. The screening will be followed by a discussion.

Melanie and Chris also held a film series at Rochambeau throughout June and July featuring the work of some of the classic movie directors who influenced them.