The downside of the upside

>> Filmmaker Kaveh Nabatian examines the effects of gentrification in 645 Wellington

by MATTHEW HAYS

While the past few years of economic boom has been heralded as a good thing for Montreal, filmmaker Kaveh Nabatian found the upswing has had a definite downside for some.
In his new NFB documentary, 645 Wellington, which is currently in post-production and slated to hit the festival circuit this spring, Nabatian explores the lives of the residents of one Old Montreal building who are being displaced by influx of capital into the ’hood. “I was living across from the building myself,” says Nabatian, who graduated from Concordia’s film production program two years ago. “I started to become friends with some of the residents. They’re unusual people, not necessarily the kind I’d meet in school.” Nabatian began thinking about the possibilities of making a film about these people and the pressure they were facing to get out of their apartments. Then came the kicker: “I got kicked out of my own apartment,” he recalls.
If the building itself—which was erected in 1911—isn’t full of character enough, the artists who live there are extremely colourful. Artists, an architect, a photographer, oddballs and the unemployed—they’re all here, and Nabatian captures them in their full glory. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t really have a happy ending, with most of the residents ultimately being pushed out of the building by a persistent landlord. Hearing about Nabatian’s next film, he seems to be obsessed with folks in odd living arrangements: titled Sayeh (which is Farsi for shadow), this experimental doc focuses on the true story of an Iranian refugee who has lived in the Paris airport for 13 years, due to bureaucratic red tape.
“Looking at lives like these has definitely changed my outlook,” says Nabatian. “Success isn’t always guaranteed in this life. Sadly, sometimes things don’t always work out for the best.” :