In Enter without knockingJérôme Colin welcomes Maya Duverdier and Amélie van Elmbt for their documentary Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotelout on November 9th.
The Chelsea Hotel is one of the most legendary hotels in New York. Built in 1883, it has hosted a large number of stars such as Mark Twain, Patti Smith, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, Marylin Monroe and Leonard Cohen. It had become a real place and emblem of the counterculture of the 1960s.
In 2011 the hotel was bought by promoters who wanted to transform the building into a luxury hotel. During the works, about fifty artists, mostly elderly, continue to live there and create in the midst of the works. These occupy the main role of the documentary. Maya Duverdier explains:
We realized that Chelsea was not only Patti Smith, Kerouac or Janis Joplin, it was also a whole proliferation of people who have lived there for a long time in the shadow of the big names and who nevertheless also continue to create.
Through various portraits, the two directors tell of the passion for art that animates the last residents. Between 80-year-old choreographer Merle Lister, guru Baba, transgender performer Rose Wood and others are preparing for the great upheaval.
The shift from budget hotel to luxury resort that is now is drastic. When asked about the living conditions of the inhabitants, Amélie Van Elmbt replies:
Chelsea were so diverse, there were people from all walks of life and origins. It is this ultra rich exchange that allowed the artists to come together that made the diversity of the hotel. Now there will be only rich artists, it will create a kind of standardized art that will be less varied.
The documentary is co-produced by Martin Scorsese, whom Amélie Elmbt had the privilege of meeting at a festival in New York. The American director helped digitize the film’s archival footage.
Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel comes out this Wednesday in many theaters in Belgium. It is notably in national competition as part of the Brussels Art Film Festival.
