One woman, five decades of art, and a landlord who picked the wrong tenant.
A tender portrait of an outsider artist fighting for tenant’s rights on the Lower East Side in New York City.
Direction
Nichols lets Philly's world breathe without over-explaining.
Production
Cluttered apartment as character—every object tells decades of story.
Director
Elizabeth Nichols
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Lower East Side documented here is disappearing fast—this film preserves a specific 1970s-80s artist squatter ethos now almost extinct.
Philly Abe is one of countless 'outsider' artists whose work only gains value after displacement threats—raising uncomfortable questions about who profits from their struggle.
US
