Kevin K  Williamson (no, not the creator of Dawson’s Creek) graduated from Wesleyan University in 1986 and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film. Over the next three decades, he worked in movie advertising, editing trailers and television campaigns for films including White Men Can’t Jump, Reservoir Dogs, Man on Fire, Monsters, Inc., and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

In 2013, Williamson joined fellow movie advertising veterans Dean Blagg and Martin Geuelette to form FourK Productions. Founded at the dawn of the 4K television era, the company committed to producing all of its projects in ultra-high-definition. Their series Mix, which explored Los Angeles’ craft cocktail scene, ran for five seasons on DirecTV before the COVID shutdown brought production to a halt.

With the entertainment industry largely on pause and decades of curiosity about the lost communities surrounding LAX, Williamson began work on The Price of Progress, a project that combines his passion for visual storytelling with a fascination for the hidden history of Los Angeles.

About the project

After years of researching the forgotten communities that once surrounded LAX, filmmaker Kevin K Williamson set out to do more than tell their story. He wanted to walk the streets, stand where the homes once stood, and experience these vanished neighborhoods firsthand. The result is a rare look inside areas that have remained largely unseen for decades.

The disappearance of these communities is not a story of heroes and villains. It is the story of a growing city. As Los Angeles expanded, new needs reshaped the landscape. Neighborhoods gave way to highways, airports, and infrastructure that earlier generations could never have imagined. The Price of Progress explores both what was gained and what was lost.

Few cities have been photographed as extensively as Los Angeles. In many cases, those photographs are all that remain. Entire neighborhoods have vanished, leaving little evidence they ever existed. Drawing on a remarkable collection of photographs, films, maps, postcards, and firsthand accounts, The Price of Progress brings these lost communities back to life and preserves their stories for future generations.

About the Screening

Question and Answer session to follow.