The Gods of Times Square (1999) w/Director Richard Sandler+Editor Dan Brown

Join us for a screening of The Gods of Times Square (1999), a cultural documentary that depicts the evolution of the iconic New York landmark throughout the 1990s. The film will be introduced by Director Richard Sandler and Editor Dan Brown, with a Q&A session to follow the screening.

The Gods of Times Square is a raw, street-level documentary capturing the shifting spiritual and cultural landscape of New York City in the 1990s. Directed by street photographer and filmmaker Richard Sandler, the film immerses viewers in the chaotic and often confrontational world of Times Square pre-gentrification—where religious zealots, preachers, prophets, and passersby collide in a blur of belief, ideology, and urban noise.

Shot over six years with a handheld camera and a sharp eye for contradiction, The Gods of Times Square is not just a portrait of faith on the street—it’s a record of a vanishing city, filled with unfiltered voices and uncensored passion. Gritty, intimate, and thought-provoking, the film invites reflection on truth, transformation, and the human search for meaning in the most public of spaces.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:

Richard Sandler is a street photographer and documentary filmmaker. He has directed and shot eight non-fiction films, including The Gods of Times Square, Brave New York and Radioactive City.

Sandler’s still photographs are in the permanent collections of Brooklyn Museum, Center for Creative Photography - University of Arizona, Houston Museum of Fine Art, Museum of the City of New York, New York Historical Society, New York Public Library.

He was awarded a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship for photography, a John Simon Guggenheim Foundation fellowship for Filmmaking, and a New York State Council on the Arts fellowship for Filmmaking.

As part of our immersive film series, this screening is designed to promote a deeper cultural reflection of cinema. We invite filmmakers to participate in our screenings, enabling the audience to better understand their creative perspective. By encouraging thoughtful, collaborative participation crossing both sides of the screen, this series is dedicated to studying and preserving the art of film.

Host or Publisher Hi-Desert Cultural Center