Private Project

Hank's Saloon

This feature documentary examines legendary Brooklyn dive bar Hank's Saloon—and the people who loved it—in its final months before closing down forever.

  • Leon Chase
    Director
  • Ashlie Atkinson
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 56 minutes
  • Production Budget:
    16,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States, United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Leon Chase

Leon Chase grew up in the industrial suburbs south of Detroit. For the past 24 years, he has lived in Brooklyn, New York, where he enjoys meeting eccentric people and pointing his camera at things.

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Director Statement

When I first came to New York City 24 years ago, it was a town of misfits, creatives, and assorted weirdos. Now... not so much.

For me, Hank's Saloon wasn't just another wacky dive bar. It was the place where I met some of my oldest and closest friends. It was where my band started, and where we played our first shows. And it was the place where, 17 years ago, a liquored-up young woman scribbled her phone number in pen on the back of a paper flyer. That woman is now my wife.

But beyond all that, Hank's was a place that—if you were willing to brave a few mentally unstable characters and some very questionable smells—still valued personality and independence over money or class. It was a refuge for people who, for a variety of social, cultural, and financial reasons, didn't feel like they fit in anywhere else. And, throughout its 114-year history, it stood as an unlikely oasis of hospitality—and a stubborn bastion of personal freedom—amid the ever shifting landscape of downtown Brooklyn. There was nothing else in the world quite like Hank's Saloon. And it was an honor for me to be there, and to film it, while I had the chance.