Jackson Heights Through the Eyes of a Master (NYT)
EXCERPT: “… [Frederick Wiseman’s] latest film, in which he turns his patient eye on Jackson Heights, one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in New York City, which has a particularly large immigrant population from Latin America, South Asia and elsewhere. The film, “In Jackson Heights,” will have its world theatrical premiere at Film Forum in Manhattan on Wednesday.”
Read the complete article HERE.
SATYAMSHOT 
October 31, 2015 at 7:50 PM
Wow. After spending 3 months in jackson heights, i started loving this place. It was hard to make decision to leave this place And when i left i was disheartened. But, two weeks ago i again got a chance to visit newyork and i stopped here for lunch. This place is full of indians, benadeshi, nepalis and a large chunk of sikh community as well.
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November 1, 2015 at 3:09 PM
This area was my goto haunt during many many weekends over the 15 yrs I spent in NY. Once upon a time, when the toll over the bridges into NYC was cheaper, it would be criminal to buy desi groceries anywhere else. A hint of nostalgia creeps up in my mind, just thinking of all those restaurants, grocery stores, music and ethnic wear shops I visited there.
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November 1, 2015 at 3:16 PM
you can get there without paying toll (depending on where you’re coming from) but not sure how cost effective it will be since you’re guaranteed to get there like 20 to 30 minutes later. even thou the distance increases probably by just another 10 to 15 miles.
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November 1, 2015 at 3:23 PM
In law school I think I spent just about every weekend in Jackson heights (kabab King and environs) with a few friends…
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November 2, 2015 at 1:46 PM
If you haven’t already there’s a spot called Kababish that I think is the best in the neighborhood. It’s a grab and go, no seating, but really great.
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November 2, 2015 at 2:05 PM
Yes, they are. They are right across the Dera restaurant.
Kababish chaplie kabab are out of this world.
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November 1, 2015 at 3:17 PM
I can’t believe how quickly Bangladeshi took over this place. At one time it was just Indian and Pakistani now it’s probably 95% Bangladeshi.
Even Jamaica and Hillside avenue is full of Bangladeshi.
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November 1, 2015 at 3:24 PM
Every wave of immigrants has left its mark: punjabis and Gujaratis when I was a kid, now Bangladeshis and (increasingly) Nepalis…
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November 2, 2015 at 7:53 AM
But why did Indian/Pakistani move out of the place, where did they go?
From Pakistani side you have Dera (old Shaheen), king kabab and couple other places. Indians have patel brothers, sabzi mandi, rajbhog and couple other places, rest is all Bangladeshi. Seems like 80% is Bangladeshi now.
And it’s much bigger in sense there are lot more shops now than before, i would say more than doubled.
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November 2, 2015 at 7:59 AM
Over the years the children of those immigrants moved on to other professions and neighbourhoods. The Bangladeshi wave was much more recent than the indo-pak wave and the same might happen to them some years down the road… I should say that residential areas in queens and around Jackson heights continue to have large numbers of other desis…
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November 1, 2015 at 3:21 PM
I remember the time when Shaheen was one of the very few desi restaurant in Jackson Heights. They had buffet only on Saturday for $4.99.
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November 2, 2015 at 9:25 PM
I saw this at the BFI London film festival this year. I haven’t seen any of Wiseman’s work prior to this, but he struck me as a very talented miniaturist who managed to portray the neighbourhood in a really immersive way. He didn’t fall into the trap of romanticising a nostalgic vision of the place, but instead presented a very dynamic portrait of an eclectic, working class neighbourhood in the process of gentrification.
I also saw Taxi Tehran, which was such a lovingly crafted, whimsical film that wore its political credentials very lightly.
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November 2, 2015 at 9:26 PM
Thanks for this Ami, now I want to watch it all the more!
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November 3, 2015 at 1:07 PM
Titicut Follies is one of the 5 or so best things I’ve ever seen.
Welfare, The Store, National Gallery, Canal Zone and Hospital are great too.
[From the titles of his films alone he sounds like Madhur Bhandarkar]
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November 4, 2015 at 6:11 AM
Review: ‘In Jackson Heights,’ an Ode to the Immigrant Experience
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November 4, 2015 at 6:12 AM
sounds unmissable! And quite an epic at that length!
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November 4, 2015 at 6:53 AM
It opens at the film forum today…
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