Movies Similar to The Block

Montréal: The Neighborhood Revived(1974)

This full-length documentary from the Challenge for Change program addresses housing issues affecting Montreal in the mid-1970s. As the city is restoring older apartments through direct action and government subsidies, new, low-rent housing is being integrated into old neighborhoods.

New Towns for Old(1942)

Sheffield stands in as 'Smokedale', an industrial Everytown, in this stirring call for "new schools, new hospitals, new roads, new life", after WWII.

Chicago at the Crossroad(2019)

While gun violence was on the decline in most major US cities, why did it continue to increase in Chicago's segregated communities? What is known about the systems that created the problem, the laws that isolated it, and the policies that abandoned it? Using dramatic footage, including interviews with residents on the front lines over the last 15 years, this documentary opens a rare historical window into the systematic creation of poverty stricken communities plagued by gun violence. 

The People of the Kattawapiskak River(2012)

Alanis Obomsawin’s documentary The People of the Kattawapiskak River exposes the housing crisis faced by 1,700 Cree in Northern Ontario, a situation that led Attawapiskat’s band chief, Theresa Spence, to ask the Canadian Red Cross for help. With the Idle No More movement making front page headlines, this film provides background and context for one aspect of the growing crisis.

The Bubble(2018)

Diving deep into the true causes of the Great Recession, the financial crisis of the 2010s, renowned economists, investors and business leaders explain what America is facing if we don't learn from our past mistakes. Is the economy really improving or are we just blowing up another Bubble?

The Bigger Bubble

After starting a painting business right before the housing crash, a filmmaker drives over 35,000 miles to track down the people who saw it coming and look ahead to the consequences of a decade of secret bank bailouts and 0% interest.

Appartement proche Paris, charme atypique(2025)

Five floors. Forty apartments. Rats, leaks and debts. In Pantin, I live in a building with a danger order. Under court order, we have to renovate it. Between Dantesque arguments, missing money and humor as a fire extinguisher, I film our collective rescue.

Neighbor by Neighbor: Mobilizing an Invisible Community in Lewiston, Maine(2009)

In the summer of 2004, the Mayor of Lewiston, Maine announced a plan to develop a four-lane boulevard across downtown's low-income neighborhood. This project was called "The Heritage Initiative." Contrary to its name, this plan was going to eliminate the downtown's heritage by displacing 850 people from their homes as well as destroy playgrounds, vegetable gardens, and historic buildings. Moving residents out of the city and improving traffic flow was at the heart of this proposal... It was 1960's Urban Renewal all over again. As tragic as the circumstances were, the threat of a road destroying the neighborhood required residents to rise to the challenge of becoming *community organizers. This movie documents 5 years of development and community organizing in Lewiston. It's an exceptional story about the people of Lewiston, but it's also a universal story about the challenges faced by many urban neighborhoods across the United States.

Dandara: Enquanto Morar for um Privilégio, Ocupar é um Direito(2013)

Roaches' Lullaby(1972)

A humorous short documentary which features interviews with three zealous New York City roach-haters who demonstrate their own extermination techniques and recount - in hilarious detail - their own personal experiences with cockroaches. Includes an original musical composition lamenting the presence of this pesty insect in urban life

Wartime Housing(1943)

During WWII, there was a need for affordable housing of decent quality. In response, small pre-fabricated homes were built quickly and efficiently to accommodate the influx of workers to urban areas.

Portrait of Penge(1964)

Film about the town of Penge featuring local personalities, housing, shopping, traffic and the Penge formation dancers.

A ház(1975)

Trespassing or Close Encounters of the 3rd World(2023)

Holding Our Ground(1988)

Filmed in a squatter community of Labangon in Cebu, Philippines, Holding Our Ground is the inspiring story of a group of women who have organized collectively to pressure their government for land reform, to establish their own money-lending system and to create shelters for street kids. A story of grassroots organizing that can be a model in both hemispheres.

Housing against Everyone(2021)

The availability of housing is a big topic today. It has the strongest impact on those who participate least in the public debate – low-income households, minorities or single women. The film follows a group of activists around Martin Freund, a representative and member of the Live Brno movement, as they try to persuade politicians in the second largest Czech city about their vision of affordable housing.

Un cafè a l'Hamsa(2004)

Arkansas: The Worst Place to Rent in America(2014)

"Arkansas is one of the worst places to be a renter in America. It is the only state in the US where tenants are treated as criminals for paying rent late and landlords are not required by law to maintain their properties. "Its failure-to-vacate law lets landlords give tenants a 10-day eviction notice if they are even one day overdue. Tenants who can't or won't leave within that span face fines for every day they remain on the property and up to 90 days in jail. "This makes things difficult for the third of Arkansas's residents who are renters and have legitimate concerns about the properties they are occupying. The combination of failure-to-vacate and the lack of warranty of habitability make it almost impossible for tenants to challenge their landlords for legitimate reasons. It's estimated that criminal evictions occur everyday in Arkansas, resulting in over 2000 failure-to-vacate cases being filed each year."

The Castillos' Story HERA Housing and Economic Rights Advocates

Housing and Economic Rights Advocates (HERA) is a California statewide, not-for-profit legal service and advocacy organization. HERA’s mission is to ensure that all people are protected from discrimination and economic abuses, especially in the realm of housing. HERA focuses particularly on the needs of those who are most vulnerable, which includes lower-income people, the elderly, immigrants, people of color and people with disabilities.

This is our house!(2016)

Appropriating spaces with the Tenement Syndicate. The film "This is our house!" explains the solidarity-based model of the Tenement Syndicate (syndikat.org), which enables financially weak groups to secure affordable spaces in common ownership on a sustainable basis.