The Sweetest Land Wins Best Documentary Feature – Queens World Film Festival
Featured at The Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, NY, we are so pleased to announce that THE SWEETEST LAND was the festival winner at Queens World Film Festival. Thank you, QWFF
In urban America, there are community promises made, triumphant political speeches performed and conditions, which rarely change. Yet when the gunshots sound and blood spills, who shows up?
From the midnight surgeons, to a community on the brink of hope and sacrifice, THE SWEETEST LAND investigates real stories of violence, prevention and change, where complacency can no longer be an option.
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Posted by Jeffrey Teitler
Studies show that roughly 2 percent of Hartford’s population commits most of the criminal acts. From firsthand experience, I know historically, and most likely now, there has been no plan for a brighter future or any extensive efforts to effectively reach those individuals (or those who will become that 2 percent). Much of what you hear are band-aid fixes, new program names and reliance on “hope” for what I see as a chronic sucking chest wound within the city.
We all have advocated for more resources and jobs at one time or another. But even successful prevention programs cannot compensate for the many other funded programs that repeatedly fail our youths, do not advance practice and provide low quality care for those in dire need. Overall, there is a gaping lack of accountability and oversight within these prevention initiatives, their methods and outcomes. We lose lives, miss opportunities and misspend millions without quality assurances and studied results. For example, crime prevention nonprofits submit self-evaluations and self-monitoring reports to receive funding while few watch for accuracy, data proof and outcome. I’ve seen it.
Many years ago, I presented a number of ideas to then-Mayor Eddie Perez, which I believe could have changed Hartford’s dynamic; one of them being a citywide referral database by which all nonprofits receiving funding within the city would be required to register and share information with each other. This could help our community to better assess and serve youth and families in much more comprehensive ways, while providing the services they need. I also suggested we use out-of-state evaluators, who have no political ties or agendas. Doing this would ensure true compliance, value and service for the millions of prevention dollars being flooded into the same sections of the city. While I received no response from my presentation, it is more important to acknowledge that Hartford is not advancing as much as it should. In fact, history is repeating itself.
I was mad. I had thoughts of retaliation. So did my friends. Although ours might be a typical response to trauma (or a preventable future act of violence), there were no follow-up services from any community-based organization or gun violence intervention program offered to my family, friends or me. In fact, aside from one underfunded reverend, several mothers who also lost their children to violence, and my family, there was no one to help.
Through private consultations with research-based organizations, a rough cut of THE SWEETEST LAND was presented to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center’s Injury Prevention Center. In a rare and brave statement, the Center’s Director, Gary Lapidus wrote the following:
Gary Lapidus PA-C, MPH – Director Injury Prevention Center – Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health, University of Connecticut’s School of Medici
Film for me at CCSU has changed my thoughts and perception of production. I have gone beyond the fear of handling the camera and approaching subjects. Most recently, through film, I explored issues of gender and identity in an extremely personal way. This resulted in over 6000 views within week of posting and a mass of positive feedback on issues of gender.