Sunday, April 9, 1961. Just 18 at the time, Brooklynite Dan Drasin headed to Washington Square Park to film what was supposed to be a peaceful protest by folk musicians whose permit to play in the park had been turned down. The protestors clashed with New York City police, who ended up making several arrests.
Drasin was in charge of the equipment room for Richard Leacock, D.A. Pennebaker and Albert Maysles, and as an employee he was able to grab a 16mm camera for his own project. The film is often cited as a historical document of the countercultural revolution, but today it can also be seen as an early precursor to live news events filmed on mobile phones and posted on social media.

Neil McGlone