Changing Lanes - Director Ben Wolf

Ben Wolf’s utterly fascinating new documentary, CHANGING LANES, chronicles the tragic death of a beloved teacher killed in a hit-and-run crash in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. That death becomes the catalyst for a grassroots movement emerges to transform a notoriously dangerous four-lane boulevard into a safer, two-lane street with protected bike lanes. While many applaud the proposed change, it also sparks a backlash – led in part by a powerful local business owner. As government support begins to waver, neighbors unite to challenge entrenched interests and fight for a safer Greenpoint. Featuring Talking Heads co-founder David Byrne and former NYC Transportation Commissioner and Janette Sadik-Khan, this new documentary investigates why our streets are designed the way they are, and what it will take to make them safer and more livable. Director and Cinematographer Ben Wolf joins us for a conversation on the twists and turns of the effort to bring about change and safety for a community at the crossroads. changinglanesdoc.comAbout the filmmaker - For over two decades, Ben Wolf has served as cinematographer and co- producer on a wide variety of projects, including the feature documentaries Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037 (dir. Ben Niles), Ride Rise Roar (dir. Hillman Curtis), Loving Lampposts (dir. Todd Drezner), Obit (dir. Vanessa Gould), The Happy Film (dir. Hillman Curtis/Stefan Sagmeister) and Keeper of Time (dir. Mike Culyba). He also contributed extensively to the photography of Gary Hustwit’s films Helvetica, Objectified, Urbanized and Rams. Ben’s career has paralleled the rise of digital technology, and he has leveraged the new tools in his documentary shooting practice, constantly pushing to use smaller crews to get higher quality, more intimate and dynamic footage. At the same time, he appreciates that, ultimately, film-making is a deeply humanistic craft, requiring sensitivity, collaboration and thoughtfulness. Ben earned a BA in Philosophy from Yale and an MFA in Film from Columbia. Splitting his time between Brooklyn and Sicily, he is an avid cyclist, and Electric Avenue is his feature documentary directing debut.