In the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, which drown eleven basement apartment residents, scientists and community advocates expose New York City's alarming unpreparedness for extreme weather. Notes from Underground reveals how Queens residents are fighting for environmental justice, and what other flood-vulnerable communities can learn from their struggle.
SYNOPSIS
As storms that meteorologists once treated as thousand-year events grow increasingly common, Notes From Underground reveals how New York City's crumbling infrastructure and systemic neglect leave its most vulnerable citizens underwater — literally and otherwise. In the wake of Hurricane Ida, which claimed the lives of a dozen basement apartment residents, scientists and urban designers expose the city's alarming unpreparedness for intensifying rainfall and flooding. As they push for better policy to address these new realities, first-generation immigrant homeowners of Queens work towards change in their own communities, uncovering a roadmap for resilience built from the ground up.
ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)
Miao Wang
Miao Wang is a Beijing-born New Yorker whose filmmaking is deeply informed by her cross-cultural perspective. Miao’s work is characterized by a cinematic, lyrical sensibility, grounded in a keen observational style. Miao has directed and produced three documentary features, Admissions Granted (MSNBC Films), Maineland (SXSW Jury Winner and NYT Critic’s Pick), Beijing Taxi (NY Magazine Critic’s Pick), as well as numerous short films, including Ani Liu: Eye Heart Womb (PBS American Masters), Made by China in America and Yellow Ox Mountain (PBS). Her films have screened at major international festivals and venues, including the Guggenheim Museum, and have received theatrical releases in the U.S., nationwide broadcasts, and digital distribution across global platforms. In addition to her independent film work, Miao directs, produces, and edits commissioned content for clients such as the Guggenheim Museum, the Criterion Collection, Vulcan Productions, and Vice Media, and branded programs for Ogilvy, DuPont, Philips, Microsoft Design, and Time Inc. Miao is a recipient of fellowship and funding from Impact Partners, Chicken & Egg, Firelight Media, the Sundance Institute, the Jerome Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, Tribeca Film Institute, IFP (Gotham), and the Flaherty Film Seminar. She holds a BA in Economics from the University of Chicago and an MFA in Design and Film from Parsons School of Design. Miao is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Damon Smith is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, and story consultant based in New York City. His producing credits include 100 YEARS OF WARNER BROS. (Max, 2023), SISTERS WITH TRANSISTORS (Metrograph Films 2021), ANBESSA (Berlinale 2019), MAINELAND (Special Jury Award, SXSW 2017), and BETTY: THEY SAY I’M DIFFERENT (IDFA 2017). As a co-founding partner at Cinelan, Damon co-created and produced the company’s Webby–winning film series GE FOCUS FORWARD – Short Films, Big Ideas, and WE THE ECONOMY: Short Films You Can’t Afford to Miss, a groundbreaking IDA-nominated series of 20 shorts about the U.S. economy directed by Oscar- and Emmy-winning filmmakers.
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Women Make Movies (WMM), Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit media arts organization registered with the New York Charities Bureau of New York State and accepts charitable donations on behalf of this project. Your donation will be spent by the filmmaker(s) toward the production and completion of this media project. No services or goods are provided by Women Make Movies, the filmmaker(s) or anyone else associated with this project in exchange for your charitable donation.
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