DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT


This film is the story of my home, the city where I was born and where I proudly continue to live. As a third-generation city resident and grandson of working-class immigrants, I see the ghosts of my grandparents in Baltimore’s thousands of crumbling rowhouses. When I finished college, I returned to Baltimore and made one of these abandoned houses my home. Although the home lacked running water and a kitchen, I was proud. I was the first person in my family to own a house. Each rotten beam I removed, and coat of paint I applied made me feel as if I was helping to mend the soul of the city and quiet the ghosts of my grandparents. It’s been more than twenty-five years since I revived my little rowhouse. Throughout this time, the challenges of violence and poverty and the malignant effects of structural racism have persisted. I am making this documentary to better understand how and why these challenges continue and to reveal possible pathways toward change. My dream is here in Baltimore, making this film, bearing witness to the fight to heal my hometown, and uncovering avenues for healing for our nation.”