Documentary History Project for Youth Price:

Higher Education Institutions & Government Agency DVD | $139.00

K-12 & Public Libraries DVD | $79.00

Home Video DVD License – Restrictions Apply | $20.00

Scribe Video Center Program:

The Documentary History Project for Youth (DHPY) is an annual after-school, weekend and summertime digital media production workshop for middle and high school students. Each year, youth participants create short documentary films as a way to explore some aspect of the social, political and cultural history of Philadelphia. 

DHPY Students: Maya Culbertson, Jackson Tritt, Kura Ellis, Theo Black, Wynter Lane, Chevonne Trueheart, Sa-ood J. Abdul-Basit, Ali Elmekkhi

Instructors: muthi reed and Laura Deutch

Film Summary:

Cars vs. Alternatives

Running Time: 5:47

©2010

Directed by Maya Culbertson and Jackson Tritt

What factors into a person’s decision to take alternate forms of transportation, and how do they compare to commuting by private automobile? This a question that Cars vs. Alternatives explores through various interviews with everyday Philadelphians, and employees of the Mayor’s Office of Transportation, the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, and Philly Bike Share. Factors such as Cost, the Ease of Use, the Environment, Safety, and Socializing are all aspects that affect these decisions, and are all taken into consideration and developed on in this film.

I Am Still Here

Running Time: 9:28

©2010

Directed by Kura Ellis, Theo Black

Featuring in Order of Appearance: Darryl McCray, Ahmed Tahir, Rasheed, Jonathan Klein, Mary Tracy, Anthony Mazza, Thomas Buildmore

Philadelphia is considered the birthplace of modern graffiti, and this documentary focuses on the presence of this art form in the city, and, more specifically, explores the reasons as to why people choose graffiti as a medium for personal expression. From escaping the drugs and gangs of their neighborhood, to attempting to harness 15 seconds of fame and concrete existence, the many artists interviewed all bring their individual thoughts on tagging to the film. I Am Still Here provides a deeper, more complex understanding of an action that is commonly viewed as vandalism.

Mass Transit & Health

Running Time: 8:45

©2010

Directed by Wynter Lane and Chevonne Trueheart

With Contributing support from Tia Brandon

This video focuses on the move towards more environmentally friendly buses in Philadelphia’s SEPTA transportation system. Featuring the interviews of such experts as the Manager of Strategic Business Planning and Sustainability for SEPTA, the Sustainable Transportation Director at the Clean Air Council. The Facilities Technician at Greensgrow Farms (a biofuel rendering facility), the Chair of the PA Committee for the East Coast, and the Outreach and Policy Coordinator for the Mayor’s office of Sustainability, Mass Transit & Health optimistically documents a shift to more sustainable and healthy modes of transportation.

The Movement of Goods

Running Time: 10:03

©2010

Directed by Sa-ood J. Abdul-Basit

The need to transport goods in large metropolitan areas, rather than simply people, is often overlooked by the regular consumer. This documentary explores the movement goods from a historical, global, and modern standpoint, all focusing on Philadelphia. Interviews with offices of transportation, heads of food distribution centers, and with the chief consulting engineer at Amtrak, all add insight to a process that is essential to the functioning of Philadelphia, and the world. 

The Heart of the City

Running Time: 6:44

©2010

Directed by Ali Elmekkhi

With Contributing Support from Jerimyjah Batts

The Market-Frankford Line, commonly referred to as the El, was in desperate need of construction as Philadelphia’s first rapid transportation system. The line is of utmost importance for the community of West Philadelphia, as it connects them to the rest of the city. Though the newly reopened El is seemingly perfect, the time during its dormancy left families in West Philadelphia angry with the city as their livelihoods were cut off. These personal accounts are told by entrepreneurs working and living in West Philadelphia, and are added to by historical and factual accounts made by historians and El operators in this documentary.