Drawing on themes from her dissertation, Nora Gross produced a short documentary film in collaboration with teenagers from Philadelphia about their experiences with grief in the aftermath of neighborhood gun violence. Our Philadelphia premiered on YouTube on July 11, 2020 and was subsequently streamed as part of the Philadelphia Do the Write Thing Recognition Ceremony. The film was directed by three teenagers, alumni of the same West Philadelphia high school, and features original music from other local Philadelphia artists. The project was edited by Draulhaus and supported by The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation, the Center for Experimental Ethnography, the Annenberg School for Communication, and CAMRA at the University of Pennsylvania. Check out a recent article in Billy Penn about the project. Find the press kit, trailer, and more information about the film at the film’s webpage.
The film can be viewed on YouTube.
The film’s premiere on July 11, 2020 was followed by a brief Q&A with two of the youth directors as well as mothers of young gun violence victims. The Zoom Q&A can also be viewed on YouTube.