Street Movies! is more than just an outdoor movie series. In its 27th year of programming, in vacant lots, parks, playgrounds, and other neighborhood spots throughout the city, the series has brought cultural and community-based short films that tell the stories of the neighborhoods where they are screened.
This month, the series will come to Vernon Park in Germantown, highlighting local filmmakers, a neighborhood poet, and community stories from the area.
The Street Movies series produced by Scribe Video Center are free, family-friendly film screenings and performances dedicated to showcasing independent, local, and award-winning short films centering work made by Black, Brown, and Indigenous people of color, women, and non-binary-identifying folks.
William Michael, the Street Movies programmer and field producer, said Scribeâs history of the series really helped create this year’s lineup of locations and partner community organizations. He discussed this with Scribeâs screening manager, Kiera Abdur-Rahman, and Louis Massiah, Scribeâs executive director and founder, focusing on previous partnerships and events.
Michael and his team also did outreach and connected with creative artists and activists to set up some other themed screenings for this year, always keeping in mind Scribeâs mission of using electronic media as tools for progressive social change.
The Scribe team knew they wanted to put on a screening in Germantown this year, so Michael reached out to the Friends of Vernon Park to see if there was interest and to attend a monthly meeting to talk about the idea. From there, neighbors like Felicia Coward shared ideas for what could be shown, including A Gem in Germantown, a Precious Places documentary, scripted, filmed, and directed by seniors of Center in the Park, as they describe efforts to provide a center for elder education.
The idea of placemaking, using intention and community participation to create places in communities with a sense of belonging and wellness, is also a part of how the series is curated and produced. An example from their first Street Movies event this year in Chinatown was the short film Magic Fingers ćŠæćæ„, which followed Sister Jing, the founder and sole owner of Artiva Hair Salon, which is right down the block from where the screening was held.
âI think putting the camera into the hands of people who can document their communities and really show that in a way, and then show it at an event like Street Movies is really important because it puts the agency back into the hands of people who are from these neighborhoods and these communities directly, and they can tell the story of this certain place,â said Michael.
Shameka Sawyer, a local independent filmmaker and the founder and director of the 5 Shorts Project will have her newest film, Bout Mine I Matter Full Circle, at the event.
âWell, you know, I feel it’s an excellent opportunity, number one, to show our film to a community where I grew up,â said Sawyer.
She further explains: âAnd just thinking of the memories of going through Vernon Park at the little playground. I used to play there. So I’m very excited about just being in the neighborhood where I grew up and just having a community that I know come out and check out some of the things that I’ve been working on.
Sawyer lost her brother to gun violence in Germantown, so the neighborhood brings up painful memories at times. To help counter that, she began working with youth, including her nephew, to teach them how to direct and produce their own films, including shorts showcasing all the positive things happening in the neighborhood.
Bout Mine is the name of the clothing company Sawyerâs brother, Allen Taylor, a.k.a. Tanch, started before he died. The film comes full circle as his son, who was double impacted by gun violence by losing his father and surviving being shot himself, is the leading voice of the film, sharing his story and how he is processing everything he has gone through.
Award-winning poet and Germantown neighbor Nzadi Keita will start the night with poetry. The lineup includes Topaz Jonesâ Sundance-winning Op-Doc (opinion documentary), Donât Go Tellinâ Your Momma. The artistic and insightful film uses storytelling devices such as the Black ABCs to âtake viewers on a visual and musical journey through Jones’s education on his own Black identity.â
Street Movies in Vernon Park (5800 Germantown Avenue) will be held on Thursday, August 8, 2024, from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Bring your own chairs/blankets and snacks. Tickets and more information are here.
