A young filmmaker returns home after many years away, to write a script about his childhood, only to find his neighborhood unrecognizable and his childhood friends being scattered to the wind.
When Jay (Obinna Nwachukwu) returns to his old neighborhood, which has drastically been gentrified, he struggles to come to terms with the erasure of his existence. As most of his childhood friends either moved away or went to jail, he’s now shocked to see the very people who would’ve never been caught dead in that neighborhood now living next door. Frustrated, he tries to regain and preserve evidence of his history which seems to be quickly diminishing.
This film explores the side of gentrification no one likes to talk about which includes the tearing down and erasure of culture and history while covering it up with chain stores, expensive apartment buildings, and completely ridding the neighborhood of any proof of past culture. Some think it’s a great idea to buy residents out of their homes, build over-priced shops where little to none of the previous culture exists while others will always fight against it. Based on personal experience, the director tells a beautiful story that captures every emotional dynamic of the struggle to hold onto your past while you literally watch it slip through your fingers. A great film with an amazing cast!
Opens in Select Theaters and on Netflix Thursday, September 17th
