Joseph De Francesco

Members of a racially mixed cast of self-confessed murderers is transformed by acting in a play about slavery and freedom that took three years to mount.

From the Peabody and Emmy Award-winning PBS series NEIGHBORHOODS: THE HIDDEN CITIES OF SAN FRANCISCO comes the remarkable story of San Francisco's Fillmore District. Remembered today mainly for its rock & roll auditorium, the Fillmore District is one of the great cautionary tales of American urban life. From the wholesale removal of Japanese Americans during World War II, to the jazz heyday of the 1950s, to the bulldozers of urban renewal, the Fillmore District has seen its share of drama.

An intimate portrait of Christopher Alexander, a critic of modern architecture on a lifelong quest to build harmonious, livable places in today’s world. The film tells the story of two projects – a spectacular high school in Japan and an innovative homeless shelter in California. For Alexander, feelings come first, users are deeply engaged and process is paramount. We discover what happens when an architect’s unconventional method collides with standard practices in his profession.