ancestry

Taking video cameras to the street, members of Philadelphia’s branch of the Moorish Science Temple of America ask interviewees of various ethnic backgrounds a provocative question: can the term “African American” accurately describe one's nationality?

The African influence is rich at El Colobó, a garden in the Norris Square neighborhood of Philadelphia. Created by Grupo Motivos, an organization of women of Puerto Rican descent who formed a support network for the affirmation of their identity, El Colobó is the neighborhood’s first African garden. It is a place where community members gather to learn about their African heritage and celebrate the influence of African cultures in Puerto Rico and North America through art, dance, music and agriculture.

This dynamic tape video, produced by the AAU youth group, explores issues of identity, culture and rights. Shot in a raw, shaky-cam style, Face to Face has fun recontextualizing popular Asian cinematic caricatures, but primarily focuses on the faces of its 10 teen directors. They describe how they deal with stereotypes at school, being harassed by the police, and being in gangs -- or just having people assume that they're in one.