The United States of Detroit

*FILMMAKERS IN ATTENDANCE*

The United States of Detroit

This is what a comeback looks like.

Stylized and scrupulous, The United States of Detroit is a fascinating and moving film about the resilience and spirit of Detroit’s neighborhoods, telling the story of the city’s past, its present resurgence and its future potential – with a focus on several community projects that empowered citizens have taken upon themselves to create.

A social justice story about both hardships and triumphs, the film speaks to directly to issues of gentrification, redevelopment, urban agriculture, and the arts that cities
all over American continue to face.

Featured in the film is the incredible story of Pastor Barry Randolph, a man who is the rock of his community, instilling hope and peace in his parishioners, and helping to keep them off the streets with youth programs and job training. With his church struggling, Pastor Barry took a job working at the deli counter of a local supermarket rather than close its doors. It is an uplifting story that encapsulates what more and more are learning about this city: Detroit doesn’t give up.

A short film about two DREAMers who are graduate students at Michigan State University, What Happens to a Dream Deferred is an intimate portrait of a day in the life of José Adrián Badillo Carlos and Osvaldo Sandoval after the Trump administration’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.