Everything is Fine. (In Evanston, IL)
30 minute documentary short produced, directed, and edited by Leah Holmes, Vanessa Kjeldsen, and Kelsey Carroll
Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival
Official Selection 2024
American Documentary and Animation Film Festival
Official Selection 2024
Chicago/Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
National Student Production Award Nominee (College Long Form Documentary)
Official Selection 2024
American Documentary and Animation Film Festival
Official Selection 2024
Chicago/Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
National Student Production Award Nominee (College Long Form Documentary)
Private viewing link to come.
Synopsis:
Evanston, a suburb just north of Chicago, touts its progressivism and inclusion. It was the first city in the U.S. to offer reparations for Black residents and every street corner boasts Black Lives Matter signs, but Evanston’s Black residents have a different story to tell. If you travel to the other side of Evanston, the historically Black ward, ‘For Rent’ signs are indicators of the thousands of Black residents leaving, gentrification encroaching, and streets becoming quiet.
It wasn't always this way. There used to be a vibrant, thriving hub for the Black community at the Emerson YMCA. One in every five Black boys in Evanston were members, Nat King Cole played at the Y's prom, and for many residents, it became a second home. That was until the building was burned down in 1980. The destruction happened in the name of progress, despite the Black community's protests.
It wasn't always this way. There used to be a vibrant, thriving hub for the Black community at the Emerson YMCA. One in every five Black boys in Evanston were members, Nat King Cole played at the Y's prom, and for many residents, it became a second home. That was until the building was burned down in 1980. The destruction happened in the name of progress, despite the Black community's protests.
Over forty years later, Black residents still feel the hole burned into their community. Meanwhile, many white residents have never heard of the Emerson YMCA. The city's own mayor still describes Evanston as "integrating." This story is not just about an older generation’s loss, but the maelstrom of devastating impacts the slow death of a community has on its youth.