Synopsis
Detroit has earned its notorious title as one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. due to a struggling automotive industry, increasingly high unemployment, poverty, race issues, vacant houses, high crime rates and decreased public services. Places where houses, factories and schools were once thriving are left abandoned because only half of the city's original population remains. In the last fifty years, one of the wealthiest cities in America has transformed into one of the most economically and socially challenged. Where residents once had major supermarkets and affordable, healthy dining, now liquor stores sell groceries from behind bullet-proof glass and fast food restaurants, are rampant. However, amidst all this negativity, where the press hangs on every story, the city and its residents have surprisingly emerged with their own solution.With the destruction of so many abandoned homes, nature has taken over and the city is ‘greening’ from within.
Satellite images speak for themselves, more than one third of the city has become green again just as it was before the industrial era. This new landscape is creating opportunities and hope for the city and its residents. Land that was used for farming a century ago has again been cultivated, this time by the urban farmer. The urban farmer turns out, whether out of necessity or not, to have a right to exist. Vacant lots in the heart of the city are being returned to fertile land. Some harvest the crops for their own use, some share with the neighbors or community, while others sell their produce at the market. For instance the bee population, almost extinct in America, is flourishing in Detroit. The extensive variety of native flowers on the vacant lots and the lack of pesticides make Detroit's unique environment perfect for a very pure honey production. In such an impoverished urban environment, it is refreshing to see such ingenuity. This is an image of the Unites States that is rarely shown.
Grown in Detroit focuses on the urban gardening efforts managed by a public school of 300, mainly african-american, pregnant and parenting teenagers. In Detroit alone, there are annually more than 3,000 pregnant teenagers who drop out of high school. This school is one of three located in the United States. As part of the curriculum, the girls are taught agricultural skills on the school's own farm located behind the school building what used to be the playground. The young mothers, often still children themselves, are learning by farming to become more independent women and knowledgeable about the importance of nutritional foods. Many of them start out disliking the often physically hard work on the farm but this aversion disappears as they see their crops growing and being sold for profit. “Back to the roots”, a simple yet effective solution for a city that has to start all over again and perhaps a lesson to be learned for the rest of the world.
Filmmakers
Under the name of filmmij, Mascha and Manfred Poppenk, both partners privately and in business, are working on documentaries that are as close to reality as possible. Documentaries 'pur sang', and without staging or guidance they are true cinéma vérité documentary makers. They met in Africa, where they, together with wildlife filmmaker and multiple Emmy-winner Baron Hugo van Lawick, shot the wildlife film 'Serengeti Symphony'. Their vision on documentary-making turned out to be harmonious and there was that inevitable click. From that moment on they have joined their qualities in filmmij.
Directors Statement
For us, the filmmakers, it seems contradictory to write a statement as we believe the film is the statement in itself. In particular we feel the people portrayed speak quite eloquently on their own behalf. We love Detroit and its residents. Sure it could be in a better shape but it’s one of the few cities left with such beautiful architecture, history, community spirit and nature. During the past 50 years the city has lost more than half of its population. This was devastating for those residents who didn’t have the choice to leave. No jobs, no income for the city, crime increase, just a few facts the ‘left over’ residents have to face every day. What choice do you have if you're born into this city? You have to try to make the best of it. But what are the odds of succeeding in America if you are born a female, of African American descent, out of a teen mother and becoming one yourself… small, very small. At a time when things feel they can't get much worse, we see hope and promise emerge. It has to get better and the people are fighting to find solutions to do so. Catherine Ferguson Academy in Detroit is one out of only three schools in the U.S for pregnant and parenting teens. Under the inspiring leadership of the principal, three hundred girls bring their babies to school every day and work hard to get their diploma. One curriculum to get them back on track and teach them the basics of life is urban farming. The city, through its many vacant lots, allows the school and other residents to have farms where houses, shops and factories once stood. Taking care of animals, growing produce, earning money to do so, is helping to shape these dejected girls into strong, independent and hopeful women.
Credits
| filmmakers | Mascha & Manfred Poppenk |
| camera | Suzan van Steenwijk |
| poem | Starlet Lee |
| music | Pieter Straatman |
| sound design | Hugo Dijkstal |
| color grading | Ronald van Dieren |
| thanks to | Catherine Ferguson Academy and everyone who made this film possible |
| Detroit pr team | Wendy & Vikas Relan, Michelle Yovanovich, Andrea Pietrowsky-Ward |
| legal advisor | Sangeeta Relan |