Now We Live on Clifton

It’s tempting to feel pure nostalgia while watching this short documentary about four children in the West Lincoln Park neighborhood of Washington DC, sometime in the 1970s. Just look at the kids playing, skating, and hanging out together. They’re all wearing the same Converse All Stars, and skin color and background don’t matter here. The cinéma vérité scenes present a seemingly simple and easy-going way of life, with leading roles for 10-year-old Pam and her brother Scott, who is 12. Dad drives a taxi at night and mom is a secretary.

But as well as providing a nostalgic flashback, Now We Live on Clifton is a warning to us in the present—these bittersweet scenes show what is lost when gentrification comes to their neighborhood. The nearby university is expanding, and wealthy people are buying up rental accommodation; an old property that was once home to three entire families has become a swanky mansion for dual earners.

The children watch on and talk about the changes taking place in the neighborhood. Pam and Scott are still living on Clifton Street, but for how much longer?