Film by Najwa Aswad, Neddy Beckwith, and Jay Rodman

“Kendall Square: A Renovated Community” is a short documentary on the Kendall Square area in Cambridge, MA and it’s local businesses. To give the audience a few different perspectives, the documentary focuses on interviews from employees and owners at The Kendall Hotel, the Kendall Square Flower Shop and the MIT Book Press. Tying all of these interviews together are the words of Joe Tulimieri, an executive director at the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority. Joe explains how his office deals with the constant change of Kendall Square and how local businesses have managed to stay afloat in the current economic climate.

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Documentary by Garret Ekpunobi, Anthony Richardson and Isabelle English

In this documentary, NuVu student Anthony Richardson walks around Central Square in Cambridge, MA exploring local businesses and asking locals about the changes Central Square has endured in the past 5 to 10 years. But why do we care about these changes? Through interviewing local business owners and employees, Anthony learns that Central Square used to be a run-down area where nobody had any desire to shop, eat or just hangout. He also learns that the current rumors of the dangers posed in Central Square should be dismissed due to recent developments in safety regulations for the area. The documentary explains the transformation of Central Square over the years, how it has improved, and how it can be further improved in the future.

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Film by Omari Spears, Trevor Hoffman, and Maggie Schneider

“Kendall Square: Food Trucks” is a documentary that focuses on a local food truck in Kendall Square in Cambridge, MA that is used as a focal point to understand the broader changes of Kendall Square through the recent years.

On the first day of the film project, the production team goes out to explore Kendall Square not quite knowing where or how the story will develop. After wandering around the square taking shots of pedestrians, cars and landmark buildings, the team comes across a food truck called Momogoose. It’s half an hour before the lunch rush, so the team quickly asks to interview one of the Momogoose employees about the food truck. After the interview, the team decides to focus the film on the food service business in the Kendall Square area as a central narrative in understanding the area’s growth and change over the years. The film also documents different restaurants around the area and interviews the Executive Director of the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority.

Film by Nandini Srinivasan, Valerian Planche, and Taylor Pierce

“Central Square: Is It Safe?” talks about the way Central Square in Cambridge, MA has changed over the past 50 years from an unsafe neighborhood to a safer one. Interviews with many store owners as well as locals in the square provide some insight into how Central Square has improved over time to became a safer place to live and visit. One such perspective comes from the manager of Cambridge Bicycle, a bike shop on Massachusetts Avenue that has been serving the area for over 40 years, who explains how the neighborhood has become a lot safer to ride bikes or drive down the street due to side walk enlargements and proper bike paths. Nabil Sater, owner of the landmark restaurant and performance venue The Middle East, a main Central Square destination for around 40 years, talks about how the area has changed socio-economically to bring in new clients over the years.