Producers’ Forum: Fire Through Dry Grass by Andres “Jay” Molina and Alexis Neophytides

Fire Through Dry Grass by Andres “Jay” Molina and Alexis Neophytides

(USA, 2023, 89 min)

As COVID-19 raged through nursing homes, a group of Black and brown disabled artists decided to document in real time the harrowing experience of residents inside the Coler Rehabilitation and Nursing Care Center. Co-directors Alexis Neophytides and Andres “Jay” Molina uncover a history of institutional neglect and abandonment, where Jay lives along with his fellow Reality Poets, a group of residents mostly gun violence survivors. Wearing snapback caps and Air Jordans, Jay and the other Reality Poets don’t look like typical nursing home residents. They used to travel around the city sharing their art and hard-earned wisdom with youth. Now, using GoPros clamped to their wheelchairs, they document their experiences on “lockdown.”

Alexis Neophytides is a documentary filmmaker and educator whose work centers around community and how we find meaning in people and place. She is the co-creator, co-director, and producer of Neighborhood Slice, a public television documentary series that tells the stories of longtime New Yorkers who’ve held onto their little corner of the city despite fast-growing gentrification. Over the past decade, she has developed filmmaking programs and taught students of all ages throughout NYC. She holds a BA from Brown University and an MA in Media Studies from The New School.

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