STORE CONTROVERSY TO BE TOPIC OF FILM

Miami-Dade Briefs

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

COCONUT GROVE

STORE CONTROVERSY TO BE TOPIC OF FILM

Grove activists are finding creative ways to carry on their fight to keep big box stores out of the neighborhood.

Members of The Grove First are putting the final touches on a documentary that condenses the evolution of Coconut Grove's unique environment and the threat big retail stores could pose to it.

Don't Box Me In: A Coconut Grove Story recounts the origins of the current Home Depot furor, the growth of the anti-big box movement in the village and the clashing views of residents and local leaders.

Richard Fendelman, a 1969 graduate of the University of Miami's film school, is directing the documentary.

He and his brother James, known around town as the Flying Fendelman Brothers, co-owned the Grove Art Cinema on Grand Avenue, which closed in 1989.

In addition to footage from public meetings, the film will feature interviews with several of the Grove residents and activists who have been regular fixtures at Home Depot-related events.

The group expects to have the film finished in about two weeks.

Copyright 2005 Knight Ridder