Nickelsville movie is nostalgic

It wasn't directed by Martin Scorcese, won't win any Academy Awards, and the movie shown at the United Church of Christ on Friday night probably won't be the final cut, but Nickelsville - The Movie, a documentary on the homeless encampment named after former Mayor Greg Nickels, was still an enjoyable.
Over 50 Nickelodeon fans filed into the church hall (UCC was one of several venues to host the homeless encampment)and watched, what was for many, a trip down memory lane.
The movie was split into three sections - footage shot by Revel Smith from Real Change of Nicklesville's first week September 22-26, 2008; still photos by Peggy Hotes, the liason beween Veterans for Peace and Nickelsville; and interviews done by Peggy and Ion Gardescu, a graphic designer.
Yes, there were interviews. Plenty of interviews with Nickelodeons telling their story. The documentary begins with longtime Nickelodeon Richard explaining how the name was picked - names were put in a hat and Nickelsville was the name selected by the majority. Plus, there were interviews with New Hope Baptist Church Pastor Robert Jeffrey and University Christian Church pastor Janetta Craven Boyd who provided a home for Nickelsville.
Then there were clips from the first week of Nickelsville; and it was good to see the famous Nickelsville pink tents again. Revel, who shot most of this section of the film, got a laugh from the audience in her interview when she says, ``things are quiet now, but we'll probably hear from the Mayor and the police eventually.''
Anitra Freeman explained the campers options as Nickels' police ``stormed'' the West Marginal Way campgrounds that Black Friday of Sept. 26, 2008. Then we see Andrea Bauer, editor of the Freedom Socialist Newspaper, one of 22 Nickelsville supporters getting arrested (charges were eventually dropped). There's also a chubby guy with a blue jacket and a baseball cap who pops up a few times in the background- oh, that's me!
Nickelsville might also use this film as a fundraiser but Gardescu mentioned it could still use some tweeking- perhaps some musical tracks over the still photos. Nevertheless, it was still fun to see the beginning of Nickelsville, a time that sometimes seems like a millenium ago and other times just like yesterday.