A yuppie investor scouts real estate opportunities in an “up and coming” part of town, where he encounters a series of begrudging locals.

Director’s Statement

After living in Austin for the past 18 years, I‘ve seen the landscape grow and change in many ways, some better, and some decidedly not. As young professionals move to the city in record numbers, converting laundromats into specialty bistros with puns for names, the value of Austin real estate continues to skyrocket, which means that Austinites cannot keep up with the rising property taxes. “Here Comes the Neighborhood” is our attempt to shed some light–and laughter–on the correlation between a city’s love of trendy bars and restaurants and the displacement of its longest-standing residents.

Like any good planned urban development, this film is years in the making. Trevor, the film’s lead character, goes on a journey loosely based on the true story of a wild night experienced by a friend of mine about 15 years ago. I suspected that, given the right angle, my friend’s unbelievable narrative would make an entertaining film.

A less-than-effective crowdfunding campaign left us with an extremely limited budget, so we spent a year and a half making “Here Comes the Neighborhood”–in our spare time and between other projects–for very little money. Fortunately, I’ve known and worked with most of the cast and crew for more than a decade, and some have pushed past the quarter-century mark in our time as friends and collaborators. Whether we’re short on funds or short on audience, I’m confident that we’ll continue to work together to find creative ways to make the films we love.