Urban Roots is playing Friday, February 8 at the Epworth United Methodist Church on the north side of Indianapolis. This Tree Media documentary looks at the surprising urban farming movement in Deroit, and how it has spawned new life in a city that was left a shell of its former self.
Produced by Leila Conners and directed by Mark MacInnis, this inspiring film shows how residents of Detroit have adapted to life after the auto industry, and carved out a sustainable and prosperous future for themselves. Urban Roots won the Inspiring Lives Award at the 2012 San Francisco Green Film Festival.
Says Leila Conners, “After making The 11th Hour, it was clear to me that the oft-quoted saying “think globally, act locally” was the key to solving our environmental crisis. When the story of the urban farmers in Detroit was brought to us, we knew that what they were doing – acting decisively and caring for themselves and their community – basically healing themselves and their neighborhoods through growing food, was that kind of local action that can make the world a better place so we committed to bringing their story to the world.”
Detroit’s population peaked at nearly 2 million in the 1950s, fueled in large part by a post-World War II auto industry boom. But a mass exodus of manufacturing jobs left the city with more abandoned buildings and vacant lots than anywhere else in the country, and a population of just 713,777 to boot. But while Detroit may be the most prominent example of how painful the transition from industrial to post-industrial economy has been, it is by no means the only. All across the nation, we are witnessing the dawn of an uncertain future.
Urban farming is about self-reliance and reclaiming control. Urban Roots shows up-close and personal how a community of like-minded individuals took back their lives and created a new approach to community. Many urban farmers have even achieved success as entrepreneurs, helping the local economy in the process.
Event Info:
- Friday, Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m.
- Epworth United Methodist Church, 6450 Allisonville Rd. Indianapolis
- Tel. (317) 251-1481
