Posts in 'Film'

A film profile about Eric McPherson, a prolific jazz drummer born and raised in New York. The film will explore the history of jazz in relation to New York City, revealing how an immersive jazz and hip hop culture of the 60's and 70's directly influenced McPherson's work. In comparison to the commodification of these cultures today, the filmmaker will explore how talent needs to be nurtured both inside and outside a classroom.

To support an experimental study circle, research collective and grounding space for deep reflection and interpretation of the life and legacy of the anti-fascist Trinidadian cultural worker, Claudia Jones. The project will culminate in a film based on the eponymous figure, who was a Harlem based labor organizer, journalist, mentee of W.E.B DuBois, communist party leader, ‘proto-feminist’ and author of “An End to the Neglect of the Problems of the Negro Women” (1949). Jones’ activism and writing led to multiple arrests, extensive FBI surveillance through the Smith and McCarran Acts, and her imprisonment and deportation to the United Kingdom. During her time in London, Jones deepened her relationship with the burgeoning West Indian, African and South Asian communities, created the West Indian Gazette and founded the first diasporic Caribbean Carnival—the Notting Hill Carnival.

To create a documentary, as part of The Philadelphia Orchard Project, about how communities that lack access to fresh food can develop, maintain and harvest their own fruits & vegetables through community owned gardens and orchards planted in vacant lots, schoolyards, and other urban spaces.

A dance documentary about three Filipino-Americans visiting the Philippines: one grew up in the Philippines, one returns annually to see family, and one has never been to the motherland. The documentary captures their process as they return home, faced with the reality of post colonialism, and awakening to their own romantic notions of indigeneity. The three collaborate as film artists behind and in front of the lens.

To support "You Don't Have to Go Home, But...", a documentary film about the legendary Philadelphia hip hop party Second Sundae and the dancers who attend. The film follows three dancers at different stages of their lives on and off the dance floor. Through glimpses into their daily routines, struggles, and dreams—in addition to a decade of archival footage of Second Sundae parties—the film explores "where do people go after the music stops and the lights come back on?" And "what draws people back to the dance floor?”

When Constance moves into a suspiciously cheap apartment with socially-challenged roommate Hailey, both women discover the truth behind the apartment's low price and must fight for their right to affordable living. "Affordable Housing"" is based on a true story of trying to find an apartment in NYC. The film delves into the hardships—taking moments for comic relief—that come with the continued rise of the cost of living, nationwide evictions and subsequent protests.

"La Guagua 47" is a community cultural production that has engaged hundreds of Philadelphia artists, volunteers and community members in its creation. It is based on a story that was made into a song about a life-changing bus ride: Ritmo Lab - La Guagua 47. The film tells a universal story of migration, belonging, and finding home in one another: a young Latinx migrant arrives in Philadelphia feeling very alone. One day she discovers the iconic SEPTA bus 47 and embarks on a journey that changes her life. The film introduces the significance of SEPTA’s bus 47 to the thriving and inspiring culture of Philadelphia’s Latinx community. It reimagines the 47 bus as a central character in helping communities find joy and belonging and demonstrates how public transportation supports society, prosperity, and multiculturalism.

A sensory-rich short film created by a multidisciplinary team of Philly artists and residents. At the heart of the film is an epic poem created by a writers room of Black and Brown women with lived experiences of poverty and economic struggle. The film will illustrate the poem and the women’s journeys towards economic justice against the backdrop of the SEPTA bus 23 route, a former Indigenous trade route and a major artery of Philadelphia’s transit system.

For the film "Ambitious," which tells the story of Samara, an impatient, bold Vietnamese-Cambodian-American girl who is determined to show her independence and drive as a college-dropout. On her quest for validation she has to sort out her new lifestyle, and relationships, and prove to her immigrant mother she has what it takes to succeed. Pressure makes diamonds. Or crushes them.

For continued support of "This Too is Liberia," an immersive documentary that follows Liberian surfer Melvin Kabakole Jr. and his friends as they heal their traumatized communities through surf therapy.