Youngstown regularly resurfaces in film and on TV newsmagazines as the poster child for post-industrial decay and economic decline.
But the latest example turns that model on its ear by taking the message a step further.
“The Place That Makes Us,” a documentary by Karla Murthy, shows the crumbling factories and decrepit housing in the city. But it does so to set the stage for its real purpose: spotlighting the people who want to stay and improve the city. It puts a face to the story by focusing on residents who are trying to improve Youngstown neighborhoods, especially Ian Beniston and Julius Oliver.
“The Place That Makes Us” was shot over the past three years, but mostly in late 2017 and early 2018.
Accepted by a handful of film festivals, the film will make its public premiere Nov. 11 through Nov. 19 at DOCNYC.net. Tickets for the 70-minute film are $12.
“The Place That Makes Us” is the first film by Murthy, who was inspired to make it during a 2016 visit to Youngstown to do a segment for PBS NewsHour Weekend.
It wasn’t her first visit. In her director’s statement, Murthy said that happened years before, and was by accident.
“I was helping my boyfriend move his stuff from our college in Ohio to his home in New York,” she said. “After a hard turn, our U-Haul tipped over and we went careening down Interstate 80. We ended up spending the night at a run-down motel [near Youngstown]. All night long, people partied or got into fights, banging on our door. This was also when Youngstown had the highest murder rate in the country. I never thought I would return.”
Murthy did return with an assignment of checking on how the city was faring during the 2016 presidential campaigns. It was then that she noticed that the younger generation was choosing to stay – not to flee – so that they could revitalize their hometown.
Filming the documentary gave Murthy a chance to spread her creative wings.
“My reporting work often requires me to parachute to a town for a couple of days, reducing people to an issue and a couple of sound bites,” she said. “But filming this documentary gave me the chance to witness gradual change, experience the seasons and watch people’s lives and the impact of their work unfold over time.”
To see the full story from The Business Journal, click here.
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