Recreating the Freedom Tunnel for the Film Topside

Untapped New York Insiders are invited to join a special talk and sneak preview of the new film Topside, set in the Freedom Tunnel, the famous train underpass below Riverside Park. The film, which won top awards at the Venice Film Festival and at SXSW is an incredible must-watch for New York City fans. It recreates the world of the "mole people" and the tunnel itself with impeccable precision. The artist Chris Pape, legendary for creating the murals that give the tunnel its nickname, personally repainted the artwork in an abandoned tunnel in Rochester, New York. At the heart, Topside is a story about a mother and her five-year-old girl who have made a home in the Freedom Tunnel and are suddenly forced to flee aboveground — topside — on a brutal winter night after police evict the residents. Topside is written and directed by Celine Held and Logan George, and starring Held as the mother, Zhaila Farmer as her daughter Little.