The cycle of change is constant in the world. Communities evolve, and people bear the cost...I believe cinema can help the change pass more smoothly."
- Shiri Paamony-Eshel
Introduction
Gentrification is a term that was first coined in 1964 to describe the movement of middle class families into the former working-class neighborhoods of London. Gentrification by definition means change. Economically, Socially and Environmentally, we all encounter this change... whether in our local neighborhoods and communities, or around the globe, the lives of people rise and fall on the tides of change.
I began to see the paradigm, and finally connected the dots of how my art of filmmaking could help humanize this apparently universal condition of gentrification.
The Social DNA Project is a resource that allows developers, institutions and local government to help their neighborhoods deal with the forces of gentrification in a healthier way, one which unites and celebrates its citizens and their unique culture through cinematic storytelling, and an annual community event.
“ Culture resists reduction and constantly reminds us of the beautiful complexities that humans are made of, both individually and collectively. The stories we tell; the music we make; the experiments and buildings we design. Everything that helps us to understand ourselves, to understand one another, to understand our environment—culture.”
- Yo-Yo Ma