Category: Documentary
Little Amal’s Walk across America comes to Metro Detroit
Sep 21, 2023
A 12-foot puppet of 10-year-old Syrian refugee girl “Little Amal” visits Detroit on her 6,000 mile Walk Across America, bringing attention to human rights and persecution.
Read MoreYoung Michiganders: Staying or going?
Sep 21, 2023
The Detroit Regional Chamber and Business Leaders for Michigan’s recent survey polls whether Michiganders under the age of 30 think they will remaining in the state over the next decade.
Read MoreUAW Strike and its impact on the history of labor
Sep 21, 2023
The United Auto Workers union is using a new approach to walking out, called a ‘standup strike,’ and it is striking all three companies at once.
Read MoreDetroit Public Schools’ progress report: Supt. Dr. Nikolai Vitti shares district updates as new school year begins
Sep 15, 2023
On the heels of The School at Marygrove’s successful first high school graduation and a new school year, Detroit Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Nikolai Vitti shares an update on the state of the district and what he’s prioritizing for the 2023-2024 school year.
Read More2023 Detroit Free Press Film Festival features AAPI film series, Freep-produced documentary
Apr 20, 2023
Two Freep Film Festival filmmakers, Suzanne Joe Kai, director of “Like a Rolling Stone: The Life and Times of Ben Fong-Torres,” and “Coldwater Kitchen” co-director Brian Kaufman, talk about the creative process behind each of their documentaries.
Read More‘Boblo Boats’ documentary tells Detroit ferry tale of America’s oldest steamships
Dec 2, 2022
Detroit’s iconic Boblo Boats have made their film debut. The two sister steamboats, the Ste. Claire and the SS Columbia, the oldest in America, are center stage for a new Aaron Schillinger directed documentary, “Boblo Boats: A Detroit Ferry Tale.”
Read MoreHenry Louis Gates, Jr.’s “Making Black America” documentary tells the story of African American resilience, empowerment
Oct 4, 2022
“American Black Journal” previews a new PBS documentary series, “Making Black America: Through the Grapevine” by noted historian and storyteller Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., focused on the vast social networks, associations and organizations created by and for African Americans as a means of empowerment in the face of racism. Host Stephen Henderson talks with producer and director, Stacey Holman.
Read More‘Detroit Remember When’ Documentary Details Radio Legend Dick Purtan’s Rise to Notoriety in Detroit
Sep 26, 2022
Detroit radio fans likely know the name Dick Purtan, the Detroit radio legend and community philanthropist known for his whimsical mix of radio satire, one-liners and deadpan jokes, but do you know how the Detroit radio legend made his way to the Motor City? A new episode of Detroit Public Television’s “Detroit Remember When” documentary series looks at Purtan’s road to notoriety in Detroit.
Read MoreThrough A New Lens: Revisiting ‘Who Killed Vincent Chin?’, Asian American Civil Rights Nearly 40 Years Later
Jun 9, 2022
Nearly four decades after the documentary “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” premiered, the filmmakers Christine Choy and Renee Tajima-Peña, alongside Detroit Public TV’s Juanita Anderson, join Detroit-area filmmaker Chien-An Yuan to talk about the making of the documentary, the civil rights movement they covered in real-time, and the significance the film still holds nearly today.
Read MorePOV | Academy Award-Nominated Documentary ‘Who Killed Vincent Chin?’ to Get Special Encore Showing June 20
May 16, 2022
POV, now in its 35th year as America’s longest-running independent documentary series, will present a special encore presentation of the gripping 1987 Academy Award® nominated film, “Who Killed Vincent Chin?”, by filmmakers Christine Choy and Renee Tajima-Peña, on Monday, June 20, 2022 at 10 p.m. ET.
Read MoreDetroit jazz bassist Marion Hayden discusses Detroit’s storied jazz culture
Apr 21, 2022
WRCJ 90.9 Radio Host Cecelia Sharpe sits down with the legendary Detroit jazz bassist Marion Hayden to talk about her introduction to music and the legacy of Detroit’s storied jazz culture.
Read More‘The Black Church’ Documentary Director Discusses Impact, Importance of Series
Feb 22, 2022
Stephen sits down with ‘The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song,’ documentary producer and director Stacey Holman to hear her perspectives on the series’ impact and the importance of the church in the Black community.
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News From Around Detroit
- Art behind bars: U-M program is changing lives of Michigan inmatesby Bryce Huffman (Bryce Huffman, Author at BridgeDetroit)
Artwork from current and former inmates is on display through Sunday in the Free Your Mind: Art and Incarceration in Michigan exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.
- With a new director coming soon, what’s the state of DDOT?by Bryce Huffman (Bryce Huffman, Author at BridgeDetroit)
Detroit Department of Transportation leader Mikel Oglesby is leaving at the close of October, prompting some advocates and union officials to worry about DDOT’s future. Oglesby and city leaders say plans will stay on track.
- Metro Detroit students start new school year with familiar challenges, fresh solutionsby Lily Altavena, Detroit Free Press, Orlando Bailey, Ethan Bakuli, Chalkbeat Detroit, Nour Rahal, Detroit Free Press and Micah Walker (Orlando Bailey, Author at BridgeDetroit)
The 2023-24 year marks the fourth full school year since the pandemic started, and offers the state’s public schools an opportunity to recalibrate academic recovery programs, tackle mental health issues, and address longstanding problems.
- New school year and new challenges on the first day of school in metro Detroitby Lily Altavena, Detroit Free Press, Ethan Bakuli, Chalkbeat Detroit, Orlando Bailey and Nour Rahal, Detroit Free Press (Orlando Bailey, Author at BridgeDetroit)
As the new school year begins in Detroit Public Schools Community District and others across Michigan, students face familiar challenges — with the promise of fresh solutions.
- Eastside Community Network regroups after center rammed by pickup truckby Olivia Lewis (Olivia Lewis, Author at BridgeDetroit)
Benjamin Noah Weinstein, a 42-year-old white Detroiter, is charged with six felonies in connection with the Aug. 19 incident that damaged the longtime community center with a predominately Black membership
National Headlines
- 10 people dead after Mexico church roof collapses. No more people believed buried in rubble
Rescuers have sent dogs and thermal cameras inside the rubble, and they say that no additional people are believed to remain in the debris.
- North Dakota state senator, his wife and 2 kids killed in Utah plane crash
Doug Larsen's death, along with the death of his wife Amy and their two young children, was confirmed Monday in an email that Republican Senate Majority Leader David Hogue sent to his fellow senators.
- Late-night shows return after writers strike, actors resume talks that could end their standoff
Late-night talk shows are returning after a five-month absence brought on by the Hollywood writers strike. John Oliver returned to his "Last Week Tonight" with a full-throated endorsement of the strike and its successful outcome.