The Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center presents the Long Island premiere of the award-winning documentary “Inundation District” on November 2 at 7 PM. The evening will also feature a post-screening discussion with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and filmmaker David Abel, moderated by veteran critic and journalist Andrew Botsford.
“Bringing David Abel back to the WHBPAC after the stellar turnout for his previous documentary ‘In the Whale’ is an exciting event for WHBPAC Film,” said WHBPAC Executive Director Julienne Penza-Boone.
The film takes aim at the city of Boston, a place Abel is familiar with as both a journalist for the Boston Globe and a professor at Boston University. It raises awareness about the era of rising seas and strengthening storms, and its impact on coastal communities.
Boston’s local government erected a new district, the Boston Seaport, along its coast on landfill and at sea level. The film details how the neighborhood of glass towers housing some of the world’s largest companies was built well after scientists began warning of the threats. Boston, which already has high-tide flooding, called its new quarter the Innovation District. But with seas rising at an accelerating rate, others call the neighborhood by a different name: Inundation District.
“What made me feel like this was an urgent story to tell was that I’d been writing about all these reports, year after year, about how our sea levels were rising, and with each report, the predictions were getting significantly worse,” said Abel.
“It was built at a time when we were well aware of the risks of rising sea levels and greater storm surges from climate change,” Abel said. Today, opinions on the Innovation District are mixed, with some people viewing it as a positive force for economic growth and innovation, while others express concerns about rising costs of living, gentrification, and a lack of community, in addition to environmental concerns.
The film, produced by The Boston Globe, was written, directed, and filmed by Abel, a reporter at the Globe for over 20 years. Tickets can be purchased at whbpac.org.