The late, great Jane Jacobs, author of the seminal The Death and Life of Great American Cities, helped change the way we look at urban living. In the 1960s she led a citizens’ movement against ruthless developer Robert Moses, who wanted to build a highway through the New York City neighborhoods of Little Italy, SoHo and Greenwich Village. The battle against Moses saved those neighborhoods and serves as a model for standing up to powerful bullies and defending minority communities.
Citizen Jane’s Matt Tyrnauer previously directed Valentino: The Last Emperor—the Festival’s 2009 opening night film—and has spent the last two years working on a Miami-based project.