Scott Hamilton Kennedy discusses "The Garden"
By Robert Levin
Special to amNewYork
While making, “The Garden” documentarian Scott Hamilton Kennedy found himself in an enviable position: standing at the front lines of a local political conflict with tremendous universal reverberations.
The film chronicles the much reported on conflict between the farmers who tended to (and depended on) the largest community garden in the United States, built out of acres of ruins in South Central Los Angeles in the aftermath of the 1992 riots, and Ralph Horowitz, a partner in the company that once owned the property who used behind-the-scenes maneuvering to purchase it back.
It is, of course, about much more than that battle, won by Horowitz. The narrative touches on the fundamental flaws of a sociopolitical hierarchy that favors the rich and well-connected as well as many deeper, elemental themes. amNewYork spoke to the filmmaker about his movie, which opens Friday.
How receptive were the farmers to the project?
They were pretty forthcoming. There was definitely, not paranoia, but there was caution as well to make sure I was going to tell the story [fairly]. There was a lot of media coverage that didn’t give the whole story, and it’s understandable, too. It’s not just the failings of reporters, it’s the failings of the structure of a show. You can’t get across this complicated a story in [a few] minutes. I had the opportunity to tell the whole story, so they were definitely happy [with the film].
Were Angelenos always aware of the remarkable story of urban renewal signified by the garden, or did it only become a cause célèbre after the eviction?
Absolutely it took the eviction to make that happen. I’m embarrassed to say that I’d already lived in Los Angeles for almost 12 years at that point and I didn’t know about it. It’s a miracle; it’s an amazing thing. It’s one of the other heartbreaking parts of the story. It’s why among all scenes that people have different reactions to is the scene of Daryl Hannah getting the tour [of the garden], because it’s not just about Daryl Hannah coming to the garden as a celebrity it’s that’s what all of us could have done on any Sunday.
To what extent do you blame Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for his failure to act on the farmers’ behalf?
The fact that Villaraigosa didn’t save this place [is a shame]. He would have been a hero. At the time he had a million things on his plate and I don’t like just blaming politicians. I think they need to be held accountable, but it’s a ridiculously hard and horrible job, and the guy’s just the new mayor…You have to be held accountable, and I think he would have been with Michelle Obama the day she was breaking ground on the White House lawn if he had done this.
These sorts of conflicts are fundamental facets of life in any major urban environment. What sort of social changes have to happen for events to unfold differently the next time a similar situation occurs?
Michelle planting that garden will trickle down. That’s never a small thing. And the more Obama says, “I want more transparency” and hopefully that turns into action as well, that’s going to trickle down, I hope. Politics have been this way forever…If we try to treat each other fairly, and I was just talking to somebody about this [but] I’m not a religious person, but “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” [is a] really, really simple thing if you think about it.
