A still from “Liberty Square: Power, History, and Race in Miami.” Courtesy of Moses Shumow.
Since becoming a Restorative Narrative fellow last winter, Moses Shumow, digital media faculty in the School of Communication and Journalism at Florida International University, has been hard at work. As a fellow, Shumow has organized community conversations, worked on a series of ongoing digital storytelling projects with students and completed his documentary, “Liberty Square: Power, History, and Race in Miami.”
As an educator, Shumow encourages his students to find untold stories and look for ways to holistically cover community narratives in Miami. With his Restorative Narrative project, Shumow set out to practice what he teaches. The ivoh fellowship enabled him “to pursue a project he had been hoping to produce for some time: a documentary film about the rich history and legacy of one of the country’s oldest public housing projects: Liberty Square, in the heart of Miami’s Liberty City,” Shumow states on the Liberty Square Rising site.
Now, after months of work, “Liberty Square: Power, History, and Race in Miami,” will have its first screening on November 17th at the Liberty Square Community Center.
“Holding the premiere of the film in Liberty Square was always a goal of mine, and so I’m pleased that I will be able to do so,” Shumow said. “The developer responsible for redeveloping the existing community is holding a series of community dialogues with residents, and they’ve graciously agreed to allow me to show my film at the end of the last scheduled meeting. I plan to publicize widely in the community and among my own networks and the groups and individuals featured in the film, and so hopefully there will be a strong turnout.”
Shumow is currently organizing a screening at a local high school that many Liberty Square residents attend, and he’s searching for community groups and local venues that may want to host a screening. ivoh is planning to hold a Miami screening in early 2017.
He’s also planning screenings throughout the new year. In the coming months, the film will be screened for a class and at a larger public event at the University of Miami. “In the spring, I plan to submit the film to several local film festivals, and hopefully get a commitment from a local public broadcaster to air the film,” Shumow said. “My biggest goal right now is to share the film, in whatever ways possible!”
Learn more about Shumow and “Liberty Square: Power, History, and Race in Miami” here.