“Echoes from Lock One” is an evocative call for environmental and water justice from the eyes and voices of youth in Troy, NY.

Personally screen this video and listen to a Q&A podcast with co-creators!

During the Sanctuary’s “Uptown Summer” program, media makers, artists and scientists worked with teens in camera, audio production, script writing, music production, dance, historical research as well as scientific testing, to create this experimental, participatory documentary with a message for change:

“We live along the shores of the Hudson River at the beginning of the Erie Canal, Lock One, the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution. The history of the Erie Canal and the devastating effects of industrialization are mostly unknown… even to the people of Troy, who live right next to it.  Our river and our neighborhood have been poisoned by a legacy of pollution. This is our call to action. For justice and for our future. No more waiting!”

Featured in:

• Environmental Film Festival of the Capital
• North Dakota Environmental Film Festival
• Kansas City Environmental Film Festival

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Co-created by Youth Media Sanctuary/Uptown Summer Youth and Mentors in collaboration with The Sanctuary for Independent Media, Executive Producer Branda Miller.

The Sanctuary for Independent Media is a place for community-engaged interdisciplinary experimentation, with the overarching goal of shedding light on the intersectional role of media, science and art in the process of building a democratic society. Uptown Summer is a media arts and environmental education summer employment program for local youth to share homegrown stories of hope and justice.

We are committed to lowering the barriers to access for events at The Sanctuary for Independent Media. For people who are hard of hearing or deaf, blind or low-vision, or whose physical limitations can interfere with a satisfying experience, let us know two weeks in advance so we can make appropriate arrangements.