Film Screenings – Auditorium – 11:00am to 2:30pm

As of 11am, short films by members of the Malden community will be shown in the auditorium according to six themes: History, Equity, Food, Individual Voice, Nature, and Journeys from Afar. Following each selection, viewers will have an opportunity to offer short reflections. All films have captions in English.

• 11:00 – HISTORY
• 11:45am – EQUITY
• 12:30pm – FOOD
• 1:00pm – INDIVIDUAL VOICE
• 1:30pm – NATURE
• 2:00pm – JOURNEYS FROM AFAR

11:00am …. THEME: HISTORY

• What Was, What is – By Ethan MacAdam, Mike Tessier, Jodi Moran, Parto Khorshidi, and Shiva Mishra, with assistance from Alex Nezam. Created as part of the Filmbuilding Malden program 2023.With special attention to the visual poetry of natural and urban landscapes, this short film carefully strips down the character of the city of Malden to a brief snapshot of the past and present. These filmmakers curate moving image vignettes of sleepy suburban pockets, bustling downtown areas, and intimate interviews from long-time residents. What’s left is a subtle, poignant, and honest reflection on the people and places of Malden.
• Faulkner Neighborhood – By Nekita Lamour for “Mapping Malden” – Fall 2022. The media maker wanders through her neighborhood, reflects on its history and ongoing evolution, and ponders its future.
• Memorial for the Forgotten Children – by Karen Phillips for Mapping Malden – fall 2022. Highlighting the Hebrew Children’s Burial Ground located on Lebanon Street in Malden.

11:45pm …. THEME: EQUITY

• Green Elephant – By Doc Havey, Martha Bezzat, Alex Onuoha, Jessica Frazier Vasquez, with assstance from Nasara Hassan. Created as part of the Filmbuilding Malden program 2023.In a collection of personal perspectives from current residents and dialogues with community leaders, the makers of this short documentary-style film examine the rental and housing landscape in the city of Malden. As the cost of living rises and home ownership becomes a distant dream for lower-income folks and communities of color, can Malden hold on to its celebrated history as a hub of cultural and economic diversity?
• Diversifying Malden Schools – By Robert Hayes and Yana Lapaix for “Mapping Malden” – Fall 2022. Documenting the need for Malden schools to have their teaching staff better represent the racial and cultural mix of the population they serve.

12:30pm …. THEME: FOOD

• Malden, a Place to Eat – By Rydia Vielehr and Nikita Sampath, with assistance from Asma Khoshmehr and Jozef Kobenoski. Created as part of the Filmbuilding Malden program 2023.Join these filmmakers as they explore food and restaurant hidden gems and hotspots in the city of Malden. This culinary journey is rich with scenes from coffee shops, public gardens, bistros, and more. In celebration of Malden’s many different cultures and ethnic communities, this short film touches on one of the reasons for our collective fascination with food: it connects us to where we are, where we’re from, and where we want to be.
• A Trip to the Super 88 – By Anne D’Urso-Rose for “Mapping Malden” – Fall 2022. A reflection on the media maker’s experience of shopping at the Super 88 in Malden

1:00pm …. THEME: INDIVIDUAL VOICE

• Footprints of Malden – By Kobena Bonney, Pamela Bronder-Giroux, Maryanne Smith, Karen Lynch, and Hannibal Rosa, with assistance from Dan Girmus. Created as part of the Filmbuilding Malden program 2023.A group of strangers all connected to the city of Malden band together to answer the question: Who is Malden? This short film is an exploration of places, people, and organizations that make up a diverse community. Through a tableau of colorful scenes and lively interviews, these filmmakers discover that the identity of Malden encompasses both the past and present, the individual and collective, and the simple and profound.
• Fields of Soccer – By Martha Bezzat for Mapping Malden – Fall 2022. A reflection on Malden Youth Soccer by the media maker’s young adult daughters who were former players.

1:30pm …. THEME: NATURE

• River Ran Through Here – By Josh Perry, Mavi Ruiz, Conrad Mitala, and Sophie Trang Luong. Created as part of the Filmbuilding Malden program 2022.This short film was created by four Malden residents and first-time filmmakers for a weekend-long companion program called “Filmbuilding Blast” that took place in June of 2022. Together, they produced a tender, multilayered, and thoughtful reflection on the Malden River – its history, future, and significance as a metaphor for Malden’s cultural evolution and economic revitalization.
• Understory – By Yana Lapaix, Karen Buck, Bijay Ghising, Tai Lam, and CD Collins, with assistance from Bilal Sa’ed. Created as part of the Filmbuilding Malden program 2023.An educator gets in touch with her cultural origins. A young man searches for connection in a post-quarantine world. A poet reconciles her current life with her Southern roots. A painter explores environmental activism through her art. These deeply personal stories of four Malden residents are part of a short film that examines the relationship between nature, community, and identity.

2:00pm …. THEME: JOURNEYS FROM AFAR

• 50 years 15 mins – By Julia Swerdlov for the “Mapping Malden” project. The media maker shares her family story of immigration – she and her husband decided to leave Russia and come to America, settling in Malden. She chronicles their journey in assuring that their son, born blind and autistic, leads a full, active, and creative life in their new surroundings. Waitt’s Mount in Malden is a special location in the family’s life and they share their concern for the park’s upkeep
• Boots of Hunter Green – By CD Collins for “Mapping Malden” – fall 2022. A lyrical reflection on the healing found through finding a home in Malden – a former convent converted to artist studios.

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Mapping Malden was a workshop that invited participants to create multimedia stories and highlights from the Malden community tied to a specific location in Malden. Participants created digital multimedia stories with original video, audio, photo, writing, and other content.

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Filmbuilding Malden: Our City in Motion, a city-wide, city-funded program, took place in 2022/2023 as a way to activate and connect the Malden community through collaborative filmmaking projects, film screenings, and public media art events. As a preview to the larger program, a mini version, Filmbuilding Blast, took place in 2022. Four filmbuilders created “River Ran Through Here” over a weekend.

Following an orientation in May 2023, 23 members of the Malden community formed five groups to create five short films answering the prompt “Who is Malden.” Five of these films were premiered and completed as part of the Who is Malden Film Series in the fall of 2023.

Though Malden is a place, one can ask “who it is” as if it breathes and has a story. This is the idea behind the prompt 23 members of Malden’s community explored together through film as they participated in the Filmbuilding Malden: Our City in Motion program that took place this summer and fall. As part of their collaborative filmmaking process, they shared their films with the public at a series of free screening events held in September and October 2023.