David Hood: Intangible Problem

Terrence Fisher, a teen living in a housing project in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, had seven of his friends shot and killed by a gun. Terrence is not a gang member or a drug dealer he is just a normal teenager who likes making hip-hop with his friends. What could Terrence do to stop gun violence in Bed-Stuy before losing another friend, or his own life? Terrence and a fellow teen filmmaker, Daniel Howard, picked up a camera to tell the story about gun violence in Bed-Stuy.

Ironically, a few months into the production, Terrence lost another friend. This time, Timothy Stansbury who was his best friend from elementary school, was shot and killed by a police officer right in front of Terrence's face. Terrence, Timothy and another friend were approaching the rooftop door of Terrence's building when they were met by a bullet fired by Officer Richard Neri who was on a regular rooftop patrol. The three fell down flights of stairs in a spray of Timothy's blood.

Terrence was severely scarred by this incident and the Bed-Stuy residents were outraged by the killing of an innocent teen. However, the Grand Jury decided that the shooting was a tragic accident and no indictment was issued against the officer. Terrence and his friends were furious. Uncontrollable anger and pain were eating Terrence alive. But instead of retaliating or starting a riot, Terrence and his friends took the path of organizing protests and creating tribute music for Timothy so that their story will spread to the world outside of Bed-Stuy.

This documentary contains images that could only be captured by someone like Terrence, who has spent his entire life in the projects and experienced fear and sadness of gun violence in his everyday life.

I chose this documentary because it is an intangible product (video) addressing an intangible problem (gun control and violence).

Gun violence is an issue all over the world, but this documentary focuses on the problem in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. The area has been notorious for violence and crime for decades. The problem is right in our back yard, and still there is no solution.

This film is an attempt by frustrated youths to raise awarness, and in turn, reduce gun violence in their neighborhood.