One Of Us Films

One of Us Films will host a work-in-progress screening of Reimagining Our Cities, a documentary film inspired by John Gallagher’s book Reimagining Detroit.  It will take place on Tuesday, March 27th at 7:00 p.m.  Admission is free.

Population loss and industrial collapse scar cities around the globe. People in post-industrial, blighted neighborhoods are taking action to make their communities a better place to live. While transitioning their cities from polluted wastelands to environmentally sustainable communities, these urban heroes tell an international story we all share.

Director Carrie LeZotte and John Gallagher will lead a discussion following the screening of the 30-minute work-in-progress.

Featuring Detroit, where urban agriculture is a star.  Small community gardens help reclaim blighted neighborhoods that displace drug dealers and prostitutes.  Larger garden projects provide locally grown food to people who don’t have access to many healthy choices in their neighborhoods, while also uniting people across various ethnic groups.

Reit Schumack, moved into one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Detroit, one with the highest murder rates, and put a community garden next to a drug house – it was just the beginning of her work.  She rides through her neighborhood of small bungalow homes on the tractor she uses to maintain abandoned lots, “these people have been behind locked doors for the last twenty, thirty years, and are now coming out.”

Malik Yakini of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network and Patrick Crouch of Earthwork Farms literally get their hands dirty with their work in agriculture, and provide a historical and activist perspective to the work.  Attending community meetings with Malik and visiting the last black-owned supermarket in Detroit are on the list of additional footage required for production.  Gary Wozniak stands at the site of a future tilapia farm and envisions a new place of employment for residents of Detroit, who like himself, are recovering addicts.

Community arts installations have also had a big impact, like the 25 year-old, internationally renowned Heidelberg Project that millennial Jessica Williams is engaging the next generation in, mentored by executive director Jenenne Whitfield.

The event is free to the public, but seating is limited and attendees must rsvp to:
rsvp@oneofusfilms.org

The documentary project is made possible in part by our hosts for the event,
Quicken Loans and the following;

The Michigan Humanities Council
DTE Energy Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation
The Kresge Foundation
Michigan Department of Housing Development

Additional funding is being sought for the production of the film. See for more details on the project’s focus and status: http://media.gfem.org/node/12680

About our host location:
http://bedrockmgt.com/madison.html

May 16th, 2011 – by Carrie LeZotte

Hunting Blind has been submitted and rejected from several festivals.   Most don’t provide feedback, but thanks to the Cleveland Film Festival, who did!  Of the three judges, the last one didn’t “get it” and probably kept us from getting accepted.

Congratulations to all involved in creating the work.  The process was well worth it.  Here’s what the judges said:

1. A classic mexican stand off! Right out of  The Good, The Bad, and The
Ugly. The characters are very well portrayed by very good acting and a
good short concept style script. The film’s tension-filled short conflict
captures the viewers interest and holds it until the final ending
“shot”-pun intended. Technically the film looks good and is edited to hold
all of the unpredictable results. My one negative comment is that the film
ends unresolved, although some viewers may love this. This was a very
enjoyable, exciting and gripping short drama, which will make a nice
addition to any festival.
2.The foreshadowing at the beginning, along with the soundtrack set the
mood very well.  I went back and forth between sympathizing with the main
character and fearing him. The altercation in the woods was confusing and
the end was shocking with where it cut off. I felt like it could have been
longer, or the main characters’ backstories could have been better
developed. The viewer gets a shallow background, but I don’t think it was
enough to make the viewer care what happened to him in the end.
3.This was a tough story to follow. I didn’t get that they were brothers,
and couldn’t really understand the backstory. Dialogue was weak, and the
music wasn’t given too much thought. Need to pay attention to detail, too:
they were too clean-shaven to be believable as ‘long weekend’ hunters.
Maybe providing more of a backstory would help develop the characters, and
this film.