Diamond in the Rust
Diamond in the Rust is a documentary that examines decades of failed urban planning and redevelopment in Willets Point, Queens, an industrial enclave known as the Iron Triangle. Through archival footage and interviews with residents, workers, journalists, and policymakers, the film traces how repeated promises of affordable housing and community investment were sidelined in favor of speculative projects that stalled or collapsed. As New York Mets owner Steve Cohen proposes a massive casino and entertainment complex adjacent to Citi Field, the film interrogates whether this latest plan represents genuine progress or another reshaping of the neighborhood around elite interests. At its core, Diamond in the Rust asks what a truly successful outcome for Willets Point would look like and who gets to define success after decades of neglect, displacement, and broken trust.
July 11, 2025
12-12:40 PM
Court Square Theater
44-02 23rd St, Long Island City
Benjamin Brewster
Ben Brewster is an actor, screenwriter, and documentary producer whose work explores disillusionment, memory, and the myths that shape contemporary American life. Committed to authenticity and collaboration, he writes character-driven stories that engage audiences on a human level and invite empathy, nuance, and reflection beyond spectacle.
A graduate of Trinity College with a B.A. in Film Studies, Brewster trained in Method Acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, bringing a performance-centered sensibility to his writing. His experience spans narrative, documentary, and experimental cinema, with a focus on blending intellectual inquiry with emotional truth.
Brewster has worked in documentary production with Captured Time Productions and Nick Davis Productions, contributing to projects including an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary and the feature Hopeville: How to Win the Reading Wars. He found his own production company, Lilac Creative Studio, in 2025, where he has produced a documentary and has another on the way.
He has supported festival operations and creative programming at Newport Film, the Boston Film Festival, and the Austin Film Festival, and has written film criticism for the UK-based platform Flix Premiere, as well as serving as a contributing writer for High on Films.
Across fiction and nonfiction, his work places contemporary characters in dialogue with history, interrogating power, legacy, and cultural memory while asking what remains when inherited narratives begin to erode.