Chicago's stories, told by the people who live them.

What this is

Every neighborhood in Chicago holds a world most of the city never sees. The pigeon flyers on the rooftops. The parade marshal who's walked the same route for forty years. The kitchen where three generations have rolled the same tamales.

I spend a day inside these worlds — not as a reporter chasing a headline, but as a guest, with the person who knows it best. The result is an honest, warm film about a slice of Chicago life, told in the voices of the people who live it.

This project is just beginning — which means the communities I film get my full attention, and every story gets the care of a first story.

The promise

If I film with you, you're not a subject. You're the guide.

• Your world, on your terms. You decide what's filmed and what isn't. Nothing sacred, private, or sensitive gets recorded without your explicit OK.
• You see it before anyone else. Nothing gets published until you've watched it and you're comfortable with how you and your community are shown.
• You keep the film. Every community I film with gets the finished piece — free, forever, for your own use. A film about your world belongs to your world.
• No angles, no gotchas. I'm not here to make anyone look foolish or to push a take. The point is to show what you love about your world — honestly.

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