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What Happened 2 Chocolate City is a feature length documentary, exploring the rise and decline of one of our nation’s most prominent Black communities through the narrative of three individuals. John, Mike, and Zarina, each represent a generational experience many Black Washingtonians faced over the past century.
By visually examining the repercussions of urban development and revitalization in the district, WH2CC will uncover the roots of Washington, DC, a district home to GoGo music, Mumbo Sauce, and legions of black artists and academics, and how they’ve come to be endangered.
John Russell
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Mike Perry
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Zarina Witherspoon
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A native Californian and graduate of The George Washington University (GWU), Mignotae Kebede is dedicated to exploring the intersections between creative expression and social change.
After graduating with a Bachelors of Arts in International Affairs and Anthropology with a concentration in International Development, Mignotae served as the Development Manager at Life Pieces To Masterpieces (LPTM) in Northeast, Washington, DC. It was through her work at LPTM, an organization serving African American boys and young men east of the Anacostia River, that she developed the concept for the forthcoming film What Happened 2 Chocolate City.
Mignotae found herself experiencing the binary composition of Washington, D.C. as a transplant residing in a renovated unit in Columbia Heights, yet working in the districts most underserved communities just miles away. After months of experiencing the cities’ stark dichotomy, she began to unpack the implications of being a black ‘gentrifier’. Hit with an initial sentiment of guilt, she researched Chocolate City’s complex history attempting to understand it’s polarized social, political and economic climate. In pursuit to answer the underlying question, “what happened to Chocolate City?”, Mignotae is conducting ethnographic research on the evolution of the district and its relations with native Black Washingtonians through an intergenerational lens. It is at the very intersection of creative expression and social change that Mignotae will bring to life her findings and explorative journey using film and varying mediums of visual and fine arts.
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We are 80% finished with production, and have a clear path to completion! With your support we can complete the final stage of our film: post-production. We have a talented editing team, audio mixer, and a grammy nominated musician who will be producing the film’s original score. In order to complete this stage of the film, we will need to raise our goal of $30,000 to cover the costs of the aforementioned positions in addition to acquiring the rights of archival footage.
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This film would not be possible without the support and generosity of individuals like yourselves. We are truly humbled that the DC community has opened up to sharing their truth, and allowing us to capture it through film.
Each and every donation has a big impact on the this film, and will in turn have a big impact in sharing the powerful story of Chocolate City, and understanding the city today.
RISKS & CHALLENGES
We've effectively gotten past most risks at this stage in the process. With 80% of production complete, and post-production mapped out, we are scheduled to have our completed film in Spring 2018!
In the event that there are delays or unexpected barriers that significantly impact our timeline, we will provide transparent communication.