Street Fighting Man

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"Street Fighting Man" features the struggles of Luke Williams, 40, who was formerly homeless, bought a home in Detroit and was fixing it up when it burned to the ground. Special to the Record Eagle

June 18, 2012

Street Fighting Man

TC Central grad produces doc film on surviving in Detroit

By Carol South Special to the Record-Eagle The Record Eagle Mon Jun 18, 2012, 07:14 AM EDT

The images of decay, pathology and destruction are well-known: Detroit's struggles are familiar fodder.

Behind the scenes, though, are individuals, families, churches, organizations all striving to live in the chaos. Residents of neighborhoods continue work daily to do more than survive. They strive to improve their lives, create community out of disintegration.

Filmmaker Andrew James spent the past three years capturing stories in the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood, situated on Detroit's East Side. The film, "Street Fighting Man," which is in the post-production process to winnow 500 hours of footage into 90-120 minutes of film, closely follows three residents. There are retired police officer and neighborhood watcher James "Jack Rabbit" Jackson, formerly homeless Luke Williams and young, single parent Deris Solomon.

"For us, the film is really about neighborhoods and the people there who, for better or worse, this is their home," said producer Katie Tibaldi, a 1999 graduate of Traverse City Central High School. "It has a generational arc: "Jack Rabbit" remembers Detroit in its glory days, Luke is middle age and has the American dream of owning a home and Deris is only 22 and he's the greatest example of how difficult it is to survive there."

Tibaldi, who lives and works mostly in New York City, connected with filmmaker James during the 2010 Traverse City Film Festival. A prolific writer and veteran of numerous television and movie productions, Tibaldi was drawn to the project in part because of her family's Detroit roots. She grew up visiting relatives here, hearing stories of the city, its neighborhoods and people.

"My parents were both born and raised in Detroit and most of mom and dad's siblings still live in the Detroit area," she said. "I love it, the more time I spend there I love it."

Detroit's struggles in post-industrial America can, and are, happening in other cities, such as Baltimore, Tibaldi noted. The message behind "Street Fighting Man" however, is not one of despair but hope: how individuals and communities can persist and transform.

"My hope is that the film changes the way people think about Detroit and what's going on with the poor in America," she said. "There are a lot of great people there who are trying to make the most of a difficult situation — it's really inspiring."

The vivid, widespread and relentless coverage of Detroit's breakdown actually provides the greatest challenge to filmmakers: how to make their documentary stand out in such a crowded field? Andrew James believes the humanity of his film, its authenticity, and the subjects will transcend the usual Detroit coverage.

"I think people are wary of the city being depicted negatively, and rightfully so," he said. "A lot of the coverage, especially nationally, has just gotten it wrong."

James, who moved to and lived in Detroit for a year during filming, also invested in community outreach to build trust and deepen mutual understanding.

The "Street Fighting Man" team also turned to the Internet for financial support, recently completing a successful Kickstarter fundraising campaign. The online financing option drew 153 backers and raised $8,151 to help defray some of the post-production costs. The team also may hold a fundraiser in Traverse City in late July or August.

"In post-production you can't really cut costs," Tibaldi said. "We have amazing editors and a great composer, it's really exciting."

Shot in cinema verite style, "Street Fighting Man" has already capture interest of some film festivals, including one of the largest in North America. The team is sprinting toward a September completion deadline while also ramping up marketing and distribution efforts.

"It's very exciting to see it all coming together," Tibaldi said.