24 Hours Of Sunset

~24 Hours Of Sunset: DAY

Sunset Boulevard is one of those long, long American streets, 22 miles that tell the story of film, of Hollywood, of course, but Laura Barton thinks this street tells the story of America itself. Laura Barton loves Sunset Boulevard and walking through LA, a city utterly devoted to driving. At foot level, you see things you'd never see in a car.

In this 2 part series, Laura walks the length of Sunset Boulevard in 24 hours. Along the way, she uncovers the contemporary arts stories and the iconic artistic legacy of this street. She meets writers, artists and historians, as well as ordinary people who live and work along one of the most famous streets in the world.

The first episode takes Laura Barton from an inauspicious intersection in downtown LA, where Sunset Boulevard starts, to the edge of the Sunset Strip - through Echo Park and Silverlake, through the Hospital District and past the studios that were home to early Hollywood's glamour. She meets with poet (laureate, possibly, depending on when this goes out) Luis Rodriguez, photographer Autumn De Wilde, novelist Janet Fitch, and historian Jonathan Kuntz, revealing the famous and the hidden stories of Sunset's artistic life.

Presented by Laura Barton

Produced by Nija Dalal-Small.

Laura Barton begins her walk of Sunset Boulevard, from downtown to the Pacific Ocean, exploring its artistic life. From 2016.

Sunset Boulevard is one of those long, long American streets, 22 miles that tell the story of film, of Hollywood, of course, but Laura Barton thinks this street tells the story of America itself. Laura Barton loves Sunset Boulevard and walking through LA, a city utterly devoted to driving. At foot level, you see things you'd never see in a car.

In this 2 part series, Laura walks the length of Sunset Boulevard in 24 hours. Along the way, she uncovers the contemporary arts stories and the iconic artistic legacy of this street. She meets artists and historians, as well as ordinary people who live and work along one of the most famous streets in the world.

The second episode takes Laura Barton from the glamourous, raucous Sunset Strip out to the coast, the edge of the Pacific Ocean - through the wealthy Beverly Hills neighbourhood and its manicured, lawns. She meets with professor of public policy Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, cultural historian David Ulin, soul band KING, former poet laureate Luis Rodriguez, and architect Alice Kimm, revealing the famous and the hidden stories of Sunset's artistic life.

Presented by Laura Barton

Produced by Nija Dalal-Small.

Laura Barton completes the 22 mile walk of Sunset Boulevard - downtown to the ocean - uncovering its artistic life. From 2016.

Sunset Boulevard is one of those long, long American streets - 22 miles that tell the story of film and of Hollywood.

But Laura Barton thinks this street tells the story of America itself. She loves to stroll through Los Angeles, a city utterly devoted to driving. At foot level, you see things you'd never see in a car.

She's now half way through her walk along Sunset Boulevard

This concluding episode, takes Laura from the glamourous, raucous Sunset Strip out to the coast, the edge of the Pacific Ocean - through the wealthy Beverly Hills neighbourhood and its manicured lawns.

Sunset Boulevard's cultural landmarks tell LA's story - the drought threatening a city by the sea, the mixed up sub-cultures and ethnic and racial communities that come together to make the city - this is why Laura thinks Sunset is a microcosm of today's American story.

Laura discovers how Sunset Boulevard and its artistic legacy have become a shorthand for what LA represents in our collective imagination.

Concluding a walk along the length of Sunset Boulevard in 24 hours, from city to coast.