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| director = [[Heidi Ewing]], [[Rachel Grady]]
| director = [[Heidi Ewing]], [[Rachel Grady]]
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| producer = Craig Atkinson
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| music = DIAL.81
| cinematography =
| cinematography = Tony Hardmon, Craig Atkinson
| editing =
| editing = [[Enat Sidi]]
| studio =
| studio = [[Loki Films]]
| distributor =
| distributor = [[ITVS]]
| released = <!-- {{Film date|Year|Month|Day|Location}} -->
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| runtime = 91 minutes
| country = United States
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'''''Detropia''''' is a 2012 documentary film about the economic problems of the city of [[Detroit, Michigan]].<ref>http://farmington-mi.patch.com/articles/detropia-producer-comes-home-to-debut-documentary-in-royal-oak-216697de</ref>
'''''Detropia''''' is a 2012 documentary film about the city of [[Detroit, Michigan]].<ref>http://farmington-mi.patch.com/articles/detropia-producer-comes-home-to-debut-documentary-in-royal-oak-216697de</ref> It focuses on the decline of the [[Economy of metropolitan Detroit|economy of Detroit]] due to long-term changes in the [[Automotive industry in the United States|automobile industry]], and the effects that the decline has had on the city's residents and infrastructure.


The film's name came from a [[portmanteau]] of the words "Detroit" and "[[utopia]]", and was inspired by an abandoned auto parts store, where the letter "A" in "AUTO" and the letters "R", "T", and "S" in "PARTS" were missing from the store's sign. The letter "I" had been painted into the appropriate part of the store front to make the sign read "UTO PIA".<ref>http://www.q-and-a.org/Transcript/?ProgramID=1415</ref>
⚫
It won the U.S. Documentary Editing Award at the [[2012 Sundance Film Festival]].<ref>http://filmguide.sundance.org/film/120093/detropia</ref>

==Structure and content==
The film does not feature any narration or spoken comments from the filmmakers. Instead, it primarily follows three residents of Detroit in various situations around the city, circa 2010. Interspersed is contemporary footage of different areas of Detroit shot by the filmmakers, and clips of historic footage. Segments of performances at the [[Detroit Opera House]] are incorporated as well.

The three Detroiters who are profiled are [[video blogger]] Crystal Starr, nightclub owner Tommy Stephens, and [[United Auto Workers]] local President George McGregor, each of whom reflect on their own experiences and share their observations about the city, its problems, and its opportunities.<ref>http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/detropia_ewing</ref> Also featured are portions of [[List of mayors of Detroit|Mayor]] [[Dave Bing]]'s discussions with city officials and residents about the possibility of geographically consolidating Detroit residents as a cost-saving measure. A group of artists, mostly newcomers to Detroit, are shown as well, particularly Steve and Dorota Coy. The Coys, who are performance artists, are featured on the poster and DVD cover for the film.<ref>http://grist.org/cities/detropia-takes-us-inside-the-lives-of-people-living-among-the-ruins/</ref>

Locations that are shown or commented on include the [[Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly]], where the [[Chevy Volt]] is assembled; the defunct [[Detroit Cadillac]] facility; and the abandoned [[Michigan Central Station]].

==Background==
Directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady are the founders of Loki Films, a production company that specializes in documentaries.<ref>http://lokifilms.com/about.html</ref> By 2008, they had made several successful documentaries, including ''[[The Boys of Baraka]]'' and ''[[Jesus Camp]]''. Ewing had grown up in the Detroit suburb of [[Farmington Hills, Michigan]]. She described the genesis of the ''Detropia'' project in a 2012 ''[[Q&A (U.S. talk show)|Q&A]]'' interview:

<blockquote>"...my co-director and I, Rachel, started talking about the city of Detroit in late 2008, because I would return home and things really seemed to be getting worse and worse. And it was already bad when I grew up there in the 80s. So to see the crisis sort of spread out further and further into the suburbs and a lot of people I knew were leaving. And we started discussing, 'What was the future of this place? What would it look like?' And then in October of 2009, I came with my crew for three days, just as an experiment, and filmed in the city just as an outsider. And talked to a few people, and was absolutely riveted to – riveted by the people and the place and I thought, 'There is definitely a movie here. I'm not sure what it is, but we need to make a film in Detroit.'"<ref>http://www.q-and-a.org/Transcript/?ProgramID=1415</ref></blockquote>

The film received funding from several sources, particularly the [[Ford Foundation]] and the [[Independent Television Service]].<ref>http://www.q-and-a.org/Transcript/?ProgramID=1415</ref>

==Reception==
''Detropia'' received an 83% "Fresh" rating on [[Rotten Tomatoes]], with 30 positive reviews and six negative reviews.<ref>http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/detropia_2012/</ref>

⚫
The film won the U.S. Documentary Editing Award, and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the [[2012 Sundance Film Festival]].<ref>http://filmguide.sundance.org/film/120093/detropia</ref>

The [[National Board of Review of Motion Pictures]] named it one of the top five documentaries of 2012.<ref>http://www.nbrmp.org/awards/</ref>

It was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature]] in the [[85th Academy Awards]].<ref>http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2012/20121203.html</ref>


==References==
==References==
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[[Category:Documentary films about cities]]
[[Category:Documentary films about cities]]
[[Category:Films set in Detroit, Michigan]]
[[Category:Films set in Detroit, Michigan]]
[[Category:Culture of Detroit, Michigan]]

{{US-film-stub}}
{{US-film-stub}}
{{Michigan-stub}}
{{Michigan-stub}}

Revision as of 06:14, 30 December 2012

Detropia
Directed byHeidi Ewing, Rachel Grady
Produced byCraig Atkinson
CinematographyTony Hardmon, Craig Atkinson
Edited byEnat Sidi
Music byDIAL.81
Production
company
Distributed byITVS
Running time
91 minutes
LandVereinigte Staaten
SpracheEnglisch

Detropia is a 2012 documentary film about the city of Detroit, Michigan.[1] It focuses on the decline of the economy of Detroit due to long-term changes in the automobile industry, and the effects that the decline has had on the city's residents and infrastructure.

The film's name came from a portmanteau of the words "Detroit" and "utopia", and was inspired by an abandoned auto parts store, where the letter "A" in "AUTO" and the letters "R", "T", and "S" in "PARTS" were missing from the store's sign. The letter "I" had been painted into the appropriate part of the store front to make the sign read "UTO PIA".[2]

Structure and content

The film does not feature any narration or spoken comments from the filmmakers. Instead, it primarily follows three residents of Detroit in various situations around the city, circa 2010. Interspersed is contemporary footage of different areas of Detroit shot by the filmmakers, and clips of historic footage. Segments of performances at the Detroit Opera House are incorporated as well.

The three Detroiters who are profiled are video blogger Crystal Starr, nightclub owner Tommy Stephens, and United Auto Workers local President George McGregor, each of whom reflect on their own experiences and share their observations about the city, its problems, and its opportunities.[3] Also featured are portions of Mayor Dave Bing's discussions with city officials and residents about the possibility of geographically consolidating Detroit residents as a cost-saving measure. A group of artists, mostly newcomers to Detroit, are shown as well, particularly Steve and Dorota Coy. The Coys, who are performance artists, are featured on the poster and DVD cover for the film.[4]

Locations that are shown or commented on include the Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly, where the Chevy Volt is assembled; the defunct Detroit Cadillac facility; and the abandoned Michigan Central Station.

Background

Directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady are the founders of Loki Films, a production company that specializes in documentaries.[5] By 2008, they had made several successful documentaries, including The Boys of Baraka and Jesus Camp. Ewing had grown up in the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills, Michigan. She described the genesis of the Detropia project in a 2012 Q&A interview:

"...my co-director and I, Rachel, started talking about the city of Detroit in late 2008, because I would return home and things really seemed to be getting worse and worse. And it was already bad when I grew up there in the 80s. So to see the crisis sort of spread out further and further into the suburbs and a lot of people I knew were leaving. And we started discussing, 'What was the future of this place? What would it look like?' And then in October of 2009, I came with my crew for three days, just as an experiment, and filmed in the city just as an outsider. And talked to a few people, and was absolutely riveted to – riveted by the people and the place and I thought, 'There is definitely a movie here. I'm not sure what it is, but we need to make a film in Detroit.'"[6]

The film received funding from several sources, particularly the Ford Foundation and the Independent Television Service.[7]

Reception

Detropia received an 83% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with 30 positive reviews and six negative reviews.[8]

The film won the U.S. Documentary Editing Award, and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.[9]

The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures named it one of the top five documentaries of 2012.[10]

It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in the 85th Academy Awards.[11]

References

  1. ^ http://farmington-mi.patch.com/articles/detropia-producer-comes-home-to-debut-documentary-in-royal-oak-216697de
  2. ^ http://www.q-and-a.org/Transcript/?ProgramID=1415
  3. ^ http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/detropia_ewing
  4. ^ http://grist.org/cities/detropia-takes-us-inside-the-lives-of-people-living-among-the-ruins/
  5. ^ http://lokifilms.com/about.html
  6. ^ http://www.q-and-a.org/Transcript/?ProgramID=1415
  7. ^ http://www.q-and-a.org/Transcript/?ProgramID=1415
  8. ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/detropia_2012/
  9. ^ http://filmguide.sundance.org/film/120093/detropia
  10. ^ http://www.nbrmp.org/awards/
  11. ^ http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2012/20121203.html
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