Staying engaged with the news, organizing, protecting our communities, and doing what we can to survive can be overwhelming. With everything going on, how do we stay present without burning out? This event invites participants to strengthen their relationship with what personally fuels them in the fight against oppression, centering what forms of life and joy they aim to preserve, amplify, and reconnect with. To facilitate the conversation, we will be screening Flower in the Concrete, a 5-minute short film about Los Angeles residents in an ongoing fight to protect their homes and community from displacement by luxury developments and Olympic-driven gentrification. We will then engage in a guided reflection and a group discussion for anyone willing to share.
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Flower in the Concrete is a short documentary about a South Central Los Angeles neighborhood facing displacement from luxury developments and Olympic-driven gentrification, longtime residents come together to protect their homes and community. The short was made as one of ten films selected for Voices With Impact, a grant for films inspiring mental health conversations, and was recently awarded for excellence in mental health storytelling by the American Psychiatric Association.
About The Director
Kevin Alcántar (he/they) is a Mexican-American writer, director, producer, and multidisciplinary artist. His work explores life’s contradictions: the interplay between dream and memory, the mundane and the fantastical, and the drastic lengths people will go to for human connection. Kevin’s work is also profoundly shaped by his South Central LA roots and aims to highlight overlooked places and the rich inner lives of the diverse people who live there. Beyond his own creative work, Kevin is deeply committed to advocating for his community and for free creative expression, and he continues to support and produce personal, artist-driven projects.
About The Producer
Hae Ji Cho (she/her) is a Korean Brazilian American filmmaker, writer, and multidisciplinary artist. Her creative work explores what makes us feel worthy of connection and shines light on the duality found in the endless peculiarities of the human experience. Through the non-profit Art Opening Minds, she has written and provided guided reflections on themes of grief, ADHD, anxiety, and more that are currently used by educators and individual users across North America.