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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: Stephen Skeel, Michelle Saul Yamasaki, Mei Mei McDowell, Hiwot Adilow, Ezra Ali-Dow and Jeremy Harrison

Instructors: muthi reed, NaOme Richardson and David Miranda Hardy

Film Summary:

Fire Riots

Running Time: 3:32

©2011

Directed by Stephen Skeel

This documentary focuses on the Philadelphia fire riots of 1841-1854. During this time, the needs of the public were not placed first, and instead individual, often violent rivalries between fire departments, such as between the Moyamensing and Franklin firemen, were commonplace and took away from the normally chivalrous occupation of fire fighters. Dramatically animated, Fire Riots offers a comprehensive account of an aspect of Philadelphia’s history.

Mi Casa es tu Casa

Running Time: 7:47

©2011

Writer, Director, and Editor: Michelle Saul Yamasaki

Assistant Script Writer: Jeremy Harrison

Mom: Yoshiko Yamasaki

Tio (uncle): Yoshiaki Yamasaki

Family Friend: Niall Murphy

Musician: Justin Gonzalez

Approving Costumer/Friend: Carmen Marcet

The Documentary History Project for Youth is made possible by the support from the Nathan Cummings Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation, Lincoln Financial Foundation, Hamilton Family Foundation, Henrietta Tower Wurts Memorial, Douty Foundation, Best Buy Children’s Fund, Philadelphia Cultural Fund Youth Arts Enrichment.

A young women’s tribute to her family’s restaurant, Mi Casa es tu Casa is a personal account of the importance of the Café to both her family and the surrounding community. Café con Chocolate acts as a place where people go, eat, enjoy good food, and are treated as family in the Mexican tradition of hospitality. In addition to this, the documentary explores the challenges of balancing the social, familial aspect of the restaurant with the need to run a business and have the café be financially lucrative.

MOVE

Running Time: 8:12

©2011

Directed by Mei Mei McDowell

This video tracks the young director’s search to try and understand the 1985 bombings of the Philadelphia based black liberation group MOVE, by the Philadelphia police. A mix of news footage and clips from a documentary on the organization, Mei Mei McDowell periodically asks questions of her own and questions the information presented in an attempt to fully understand the events the infamous May 13, 1985 bombing that killed sixteen adults, and five children. At the end of MOVE, she comes to her own conclusions regarding the incident, and asks thought provoking questions, such as “in our society today, do we really have the freedom we think we have?”

It’s a Question of Life

Running Time: 6:07

©2011

A Film by Hiwot Adilow and Ezra Ali-Dow

Featuring conversations with Adilow Shiweasha, a current taxi cab driver, and Michael Simmons, a former cab driver, this video subtly explores the reasons for people to become taxi drivers and the experiences that accompany their occupation. For Shiweasha, a former government employee who was forced to flee his native country when the regime changed, and Michael Simmons, a member of an activist grassroots organization, being a cab puts food on the table and is a stable job that offers a certain degree of independence. This unpretentious documentary explores the nuances of the profession. 

Tides of Change

Running Time: 8:05

©2011

Directed by Michelle Saul Yamasaki

A comparison between the Philadelphia Vietnam War Protests of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s and the Occupy Philadelphia movement of 2011, Tides of Change uses various archival photographs, newspaper clippings, and filmed footage from Occupy Philadelphia protests to create a parallel between the movements. Focusing on the role of Temple University students, among others, played in both protest movements, this video documents demonstrations from the outside observation of the director.