The feature-length documentary about Sam Rodia and the Watts Towers of Los Angeles
“I build the tower the people like, everybody come.”
Over 30 years, Sam Rodia, an uneducated Italian immigrant mason and tile setter single-handedly built monumental mosaic-covered spires of reinforced cement on his property in South Los Angeles.
Slated to be demolished by the City of Los Angeles, the Watts Towers survived as an embodiment of natural structural principles and a symbol of freedom and initiative for the community in which they stand.
Rodia’s Watts Towers, designated as a National Historic Landmark by the United States Department of the Interior, are also a component site of the California State Parks, managed by the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department.
“A lyrical look at the South Los Angeles masterpiece constructed by Italian immigrant Sabato ‘Sam’ Rodia… It includes, among much else, a fascinating 1983 interview that the filmmakers did with the engineer and futurist R. Buckminster Fuller…”
– Christopher Knight, art critic, Los Angeles Times
“…the most complete visual account of self-made architect Simon Rodia and his masterpiece…”
– Robert Koehler, Daily Variety
“…the film is wonderful: lyrical, well-made and edited, and compelling…”
– Ken Burns, filmmaker, “The Civil War”, “Jazz”
“A heartfelt and fascinating film…a real discovery, entertaining and illuminating…”
– Leonard Maltin, Maltin on Movies
There’s an official Los Angeles and a real Los Angeles
The story of Rodia and his Towers is the story of the real L. A. – and the vital arts and culture of a multi-ethnic community
“He had a real sense of how nature builds things.”