Vivienne’s latest film New York Our Time is an intimate and philosophic documentary that contrasts the concerns of present day living in New York with the bohemian wildness of the city in the late 70’s, reflected through the lives of artists, musicians and friends of the filmmaker. 

To a pulsing soundtrack, the film combines never before seen Super 8 footage from the 70s while the filmmaker was living in the East Village, with intimate conversations with old friends filmed during the hot summer of 2019 in New York. Stories of the past recall a run down, bankrupt, often dangerous city, where rent was cheap and artistic creativity flourished. While in the NYC of today, glittering mirrored towers reflect a city radically consumed by mass gentrification, tourism, and high end luxury gift shops for the one percent.

Beautifully filmed by renowned cinematographer Declan Quinn, and edited by Connie Farrell, the film is an ethnographic look from the inside at a particular community and period in the history of a great city, and a meditation on the passing of time. Interviews include photographer Nan Goldin, performer Lydia Lunch, post-punk feminists Bush Tetras, and a new generation, the children of that 70s era of free expression, now finding their own way through a city increasingly in thrall to market forces over that which makes us human.

Winner of the Best Documentary at the Dublin International Film Festival 2020. Funded under the Arts Council’s Reel Art Scheme.

Run Time - 1hr20