Wetlands Preserved

ASSOCIATE PROUDCER // 2003

Justin’s first big creative job, on behalf of RES Media Group, was Associate Producing the acclaimed Wetlands Preserved: The Story of an Activist Rock Club documentary. His role was selecting, coordinating, and producing the animated photo segments segues throughout the film.

New York City nightclub Wetlands Preserve opened its doors in February 1989. To mark the anniversary, today we are sharing the documentary film, Wetlands Preserved: The Story of an Activist Rock Club on the Relix Channel. Relix editor Dean Budnick directed Wetlands Preserved, which premiered at Manhattan’s Ziegfeld Theater in 2006. It then screened at a number of festivals, including SXSW, Woodstock, Santa Barbara and Breckenridge and Asheville, where it won Best Documentary. The film opened theatrically in Los Angeles and New York before airing on the Sundance Channel.

The New York Times offered a rave review, which stated in part, “Crammed with colorful interviews, digital animation and live performances, this frisky and forthright film by Dean Budnick chronicles a vision of financing social progress with really great tunes.” Variety commended the documentary’s “Lively, anecdotal reminiscences, plentiful photographs and archival mementos bear(ing) keen witness to the wide spectrum of music that found a forum at Wetlands.” The Austin Chronicle offered, “Watching Wetlands Preserved, it’s hard not to appreciate the idealism and unbridled optimism of an activist nightclub that survived in New York City for more than 10 years before being beaten down by Mayor Giuliani and rampant gentrification.” Indiewire added that Wetlands Preserved “Portrays a critical moment in recent music history, and is a tribute to a club that closed prematurely on September 10, 2001.”