The legendary Chelsea Hotel, an icon of 1960s counterculture and a haven for famous artists and intellectuals including Patti Smith, Janis Joplin and the superstars of Warhol's Factory, is under renovation. Soon it will reopen to the public as one of New York's most fashionable luxury hotels. Dozens of people, most in their later years, still live amidst the scaffolding and constant construction. Against this chaotic backdrop, the film takes us through the hotel's storied halls, exploring its living body and the bohemian origins that contributed to its mythical stature. Its residents-casualties of capitalism-and the walls themselves now face a turning point in their common history.
Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel
The end of an long upmarket renovation of the legendary Chelsea Hotel is partly longed for and partly dreaded by the artists who still live there. The film grants us access to their apartments and interweaves the past with the present.
