Our process holds space to reflect often on our identities and biases, and how they might shape our decision-making and filmmaking approach. As outsiders, we are conscious of the history of oppressive power between white folks and communities of color, and we continue to seek resources about non-extractive filmmaking practices and environmental racism that might inform our own approach. While two of our directors are from the Greater Philadelphia area, their experiences of growing up in their respective communities do not parallel growing up in South Philly. Our four directors do not know the lived experiences of being Black in South Philly. When we traveled to Philadelphia to film, we knew we were showing up to listen.
Engaging with the community without cameras was imperative to listening and learning. We joined Philly Thrive and our documentary participants for various fundraisers, actions, and slices of pizza in the park to learn about the organization’s history, goals, and membership so that we might understand the full scope of Thrive before constructing a story. During this time, we learned of our documentary participants’ neighborhood communities, and their rich family roots in the South Philly area, which gave us a different understanding of the urgency and stakes of shutting the refinery down for good.
We believe it is important to center the voices and experiences of people of color and fenceline residents. People of color and fenceline residents bear the brunt of refinery pollution, and as their voices have been swept over for years, our goal is to amplify their calls for justice and the stories they shared. Throughout the making of the film, we continue to consult the community and our documentary participants about the representations in our film in order to maintain transparency, authenticity, and dignity.
Although our praxis is nowhere near perfect, we are committed to taking an active role in decolonizing documentary. We welcome and continue to seek learning opportunities about non-extractive filmmaking practices and issues of power.
For additional information about non-extractive filmmaking: