Directed by Stephen Lighthill • Documentary • 1980 • 55 minutes
In the 1970s and early 1980s Detroit was the setting for an unusual development in U.S. urban politics, as voters elected two socialists to citywide office. TAKING BACK DETROIT examines these people and their organization against the backdrop of a city in extreme economic crisis.
The film profiles City Council member Ken Cockrel and Recorders Court Judge Justin Ravitz. They discuss the challenges they face, and the vision they bring to their work.
Cockrel and Ravitz and their political organization, DARE, opposed the accepted agenda for Detroit - tax abatements for industry, federal money for developers, cuts in city services, abandonment of older neighborhoods. They emphasize that the city could be made to serve its residents first - though not surprisingly the film shows that promoting this idea was no simple task.
Up Next in Detroit
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Detroit 48202: Conversations Along a ...
Directed by Pam Sporn • Documentary • 2018 • 82 minutes
In Detroit 48202 we take a journey with Wendell along his route, which winds through the center of what was, once upon a time, a vital and thriving city. We listen in on his conversations with his customers – the resilient Detroiters who sh...
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Barber Shop - Ep 3: Detroit / USA
Directed by Luc Vrydaghs • Documentary • 2017 • 26 minutes
We meet 6 populations in transition via the microcosm of the local barber shop.
DETROIT / USA
This city, where formerly General Motors, Ford and Chrysler employed almost every citizen, was declared bankrupt in 2013. The car industry mo...
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Whose Water
Directed by Kate Levy • Documentary • 2023 • 65 minutes
Across the United States, millions of people lack access to safe, affordable water and sanitation. Whose Water travels to five drastically different regions of the country that are facing the impacts of this troubling trend. Through the sto...
