By Katherine Chou

I created a prototype video essay of my first impressions of Point Saint Charles, exploring the juxtaposition of past and present in a neighborhood in constant flux.

My first encounter with the Point, when I moved into the neighborhood, was as a physical space without context. After taking the Lachine Canal audio walk and watching Robert Duncan’s 1978 documentary, “The Point,” I struggled to negotiate the coexistence of both Points – that of the past, and that which I experienced every day. I saw this negotiation in the streets of the Point as well, in the interactions between newcomers and long-time residents.

This video is an attempt to articulate the mix of past and present that characterizes the Point, through a remix of work song recordings from the 1970s, footage of community organizations like Share the Warmth and the Point Saint Charles YMCA’s Teen Zone, and footage from my everyday experiences in the Point. It is a portrait of the neighborhood’s strong heritage and vibrant contemporary community, mingling in a single geographic locale.