Local teens use film to fight violence
By Lou Baldwin
Special to the CS&T
It’s the kind of thing you see on the news all the time. A young
teen leaves an inner city playground after a round of basketball and his
short walk home takes him past a corner where a drug buy is going down.
Unfortunately for him, the customer steals the drugs and takes off with
the dealer in pursuit. There is the inevitable gunfire, and, the innocent
boy gets caught in the crossfire. He dies, ironically, next to a wall
mural touting neighborhood values.
In this case, the event never really happened. It’s part of an anti-violence
PSA (Public Service Announcement), written, directed, filmed and acted
by eight teens from the Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament (OLBS) Beacon
Program at 63rd and Callowhill Streets in West Philadelphia.
Each and every one of these students knows of incidents just as heartrending
as that portrayed in their PSA, which they called “The Future of
our City is Painted on the Walls.”
“I see violence every day, fighting, shootings. It’s the news,”
said Leon Hunter, 15, who attends Msgr. Bonner High School. “I lost
my cousin, Kevin, a few years ago to an accidental shooting.”
The OLBS Beacon Program provides a safe haven for about 120 kids Monday
through Saturday, said Director Jesse Hall, during the Aug. 3 unveiling
of the PSA. Hall estimates about half of the young people served by the
program are from the parish and half are from the community at large.
The young people who participated in the PSA were drawn from the leadership
group at the OLBS Beacon, he explained. Underscoring the level of violence
children in the neighborhood must endure, he noted there was a murder
on the same block just recently, and there have been numerous times when
the center has gone into “lockdown” mode to ensure the children’s
safety.
Also, just a week or so before the Aug. 3 showing of the PSA, two of the
participants were jumped and beaten on their way home from the Beacon
Center.
In order to produce the PSA, OLBS Beacon Center hired Vintage Blue, a
local production company headed by Liza Goncalves and Michelle D’Abella,
to teach the teens the complexities of filming through a “Lights-Camera-Action”
film course. The team came in, explained to the teens just what a PSA
is, showed them films of how it is done, then guided them through the
process of choosing a subject, writing a script, and directing and acting
in the short vignette.
Although it takes just about a minute on film, nine Saturdays of hard
work and many takes and retakes were required to produce the final product.
“It’s mind-blowing,” said Goncalves. “I’m
amazed at the work they did. You wouldn’t believe they could put
this together. They did everything, including the filming.”
So far, there is a commitment from Drexel University’s DUTV to air
the spot, and Power 99 is putting it on their Web site. But Goncalves
is also hoping some of the major TV stations will agree to air it.
“We are trying to line up as many people as we can to support these
kids,” she said.
DaReek Parker, 16, who also attends Msgr. Bonner, has the most on-air
time in the PSA, but his fate in the film is not a happy one.
“I’m minding my own business and I get shot right in front
of the mural,” he said. “It’s basically saying ‘Our
future is painted on the wall.’”
A former student at Our Lady of the Rosary School, he, too, has seen or
heard about his share of violence. “We had two incidents near the
school, and then the teen was killed and another wounded,” he said.
“I’ve had friends who were held up, who ran into gun violence,
gangs and stuff.”
Jonathan Benjamin, 16, attends West Catholic High School and is nothing
like his character in the PSA.
“I was the crack-head [in the PSA]. I stole the drugs. The dealer
was shooting at me when DaReek got caught in the crossfire.”
If anything, violence is getting worse in his neighborhood, Benjamin believes.
“I’ve got nieces and nephews and I’m scared something
might happen to them,” he said, adding that the “don’t
snitch” mentality on the street is so wrong.
“If you’re are a victim of violence, or see violence, you
should speak out about it,” he said.
Kareem Perrin, 15, a student at W.B. Saul School, the director for the
PSA, found the process fun, despite its deadly serious purpose. He has
known people who died from violence.
“It’s not safe to grow up in Philadelphia,” he said.
“When we go out on the street we can be killed and we have to make
people aware of this.”
Most teen violence in Philadelphia involves males — as both victims
and perpetrators. However, it touches all members of society, and girls
are not excepted. Danae Mitchell, who attends Little Flower, and her sister,
Shainae Mitchell, who attends Holy Cross School, were both actively involved
in the PSA production.
“There is too much violence in the world,” Danae said. “It
has touched me, but I try to stay out of it. We’ve got to get this
message out.
“This will help people know that they shouldn’t be into drugs
[because] a lot of people are handling drugs,” she added.
But whatever violence is plaguing their neighborhood, the young people
at the OLBS Beacon Center are proof positive that the violent few do not
speak for the community.
Theirs is just one of 10 Beacon Programs operated by archdiocesan Catholic
Social Services as part of a city-wide outreach under the direction of
Philadelphia Safe and Sound.
“This is what Beacon is all about,” said Amy Stoner, who supervises
the Beacon Programs that are under archdiocesan auspices.
Noting the well-attended presentation, she said, “I’m really
proud of the actors. It’s not just parents here, it is members of
the community. Tonight is a real testament to the strength of this community,
despite the violence.”
Lou Baldwin is a member of St. Leo Parish and a freelance writer.
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