Making Home Movies

Six ESL Classroms. Six New Short Films. Countless Philadelphia Stories.

artist Various Artists

Production still from Making Home Movies.

  • location CItywide
  • Neighborhood

    Citywide

  • completion date

    September 21, 2019

About the Project 

This signature project from our Porch Light program brought together filmmakers, storytellers, students, and teachers across three Philadelphia neighborhoods. Through a collaborative filmmaking process, participants created a series of shorts on the concept of “home”—beyond a domestic residence, as a map of neighborhood spaces and bonds within and among cultural groups.

Making Home Movies Premiere  

  • Making Home Movies premiere at the Philadelphi Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street, September 21, 2019. Photo by Steve Weinik.

  • Making Home Movies premiere at the Philadelphi Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street, September 21, 2019. Photo by Steve Weinik.

  • Making Home Movies premiere at the Philadelphi Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street, September 21, 2019. Photo by Steve Weinik.

  • Making Home Movies premiere at the Philadelphi Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street, September 21, 2019. Photo by Steve Weinik.

  • Making Home Movies premiere at the Philadelphi Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street, September 21, 2019. Photo by Steve Weinik.

  • Making Home Movies premiere at the Philadelphi Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street, September 21, 2019. Photo by Steve Weinik.

  • Making Home Movies premiere at the Philadelphi Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street, September 21, 2019. Photo by Steve Weinik.

In Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest Philadelphia, students and teachers in English Language Learning classes worked closely with storytellers and project organizers to produce six experiential documentaries. Coming to the United States from Belarus, Burma, Bhutan, Iraq, Nepal, Syria, Ukraine, and other countries around the world, each person brought a unique perspective on the process of making a new home in Philadelphia.

Featured Filmmakers: Marie Alarcon, Muthi Reed, and Shira Walinsky
Featured Storytellers: Fatu Gayflor, Olga Livshin, and Ujjwala Maharjan
Language Teachers: Meghan Agnew, Naw Doh, Amanda Fiegel, Meg Flisek, Moivabah Fofana, Melanie Menkevich, and Ujjwala Maharjan
Organized by: Paul Farber, Shira Walinsky, and Corin Wilson for Mural Arts Philadelphia

Funders 

City of Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services
Additional support provided by Green & Spiegel LLC.

Partners 

African Cultural Alliance of North America, Inc.
The Exchange at Oxford Circle
Horace Howard Furness High School
PhillyCAM
Northeast High School
Southeast by Southeast

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