Home Depot documentary to be submitted to Sundance Festival

October 7, 2005

Home Depot documentary to be submitted to Sundance Festival
 

ATLANTA A documentary born of Miami residents' fight to keep a Home Depot store out of their tree-lined neighborhood is being considered for viewing at the Sundance Film Festival.

The film called "Don't Box Me In" runs just over half an hour. It details the unsuccessful fight of Grove First, a Coconut Grove group, to keep the Atlanta-based improvement chain from opening a store there.

Richard Fendelman was approached by the community activist group to direct the film. He says he tried to describe in a fair way the battle between Grove First and city officials over the planned -- quote -- "ugly big box" store that Home Depot planned.

The movie contrasts the leafy, historic neighborhood with shots of sprawling, traffic-congested, overdeveloped Miami areas -- and Home Depot parking lots.

The film premieres today in Coconut Grove. Fendelman also was given a one-week extension to submit the movie to the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, which will be held in January. Hundreds of entries compete for 16 documentary spots.

The first D-V-Ds of the film will be handed out at the premiere.

Home Depot spokesman Jerry Shields said the chain hopes for happier scenes once the store opens -- though NO opening time has been set yet.

As Shields puts it -- quote -- "We can only hope that when the film is released on D-V-D that it will include bonus scenes of all the happy Coconut Grove residents enjoying their new Home Depot store."