Neighbors In My Backyard

Created as part of the Regard sur Montréal residency, this short documentary by Eli Jean Tahchi highlights the implicit divisions created notably by urban planning. It's a remarkably nuanced work to capture the rift between social classes in so few words.

By adopting an aerial perspective, director Eli Jean Tahchi dissects the flaws of urban planning in a sociological, sensitive, and artistic observation of the interstices of Montreal, revealing without resorting to discourse the implicit divides between social classes. The images bear witness to blatant injustice. The use of diptychs accentuates the absurdity of the social gap created by the city's urban planning and underscores the similarities in these realities that seem opposed. This observation is confirmed when the image is not divided, evoking places where everyone can feel at home. In an era where housing crises and gentrification plague major cities in Quebec and practically everywhere around the world, Neighbors In My Backyard positions itself as a film that is both personal, identity-driven, social, and decidedly topical.

Morgane Ferrero et Mélissa Bouchard
Programmers of REGARD