Shuttering shop, but not shutting down

This spectral piece merges home videos and artfully composed shots of the empty interior of Coogan’s restaurant, showing the ways in which people struggle to cope with endings. 

The famed Irish pub and eatery on the Upper West Side had to close down permanently shortly after the lockdown was announced, and the film follows Peter Walsh as he tries to imagine a future for himself - and those who worked at Coogan’s. Survive visits other businesses across the country, including Som’s Records in Washington, D.C. and Dulan’s Soul Food Kitchen in Inglewood, CA.  showing the ways people have adapted. The film ends with hope; a call to stand up and support local businesses.

Miles Jay directs Survive, which is accompanied by Lykke Li’s haunting cover of “I Will Survive” which echoes the loss that came from the shut down of the beloved restaurant. As Walsh runs through the city and says goodbye to Coogan’s, cinematographer Bradford Young captures melancholy and hope within soulful shots of New York. Droga5 helmed this branded content for Facebook.