Director: Stewart Gray III

Producer and Assistant Director: Kemi Lijadu

Editor: Stewart Gray III

Associate Producer: A-lan Holt

Director of Photography: Marijo Saulon

Gaffer: Andrew Badillo

Production Sound Mixer: Christopher Broholm

Costume Designer: Danyele Brown

Colorist: Oliver Ojeil

Audio Post-Production: Studio Unknown

Logo Design: HB Klein

Director’s Note: As a storyteller and aspiring filmmaker, one of the first things my mentor told me is that there is healing in sharing your story with the world. What This Place Meant is the result of two years into that journey; one of learning to embrace the events which transpire in our lives, and allowing us to grow in spite of them, not control our lives.

In 2005 my family relocated to the basement of a tenement home in Hyattsville, MD. Later that year, a house fire left my family without a home. In the transition period between the fire and finding an apartment in Washington, DC, we anxiously waited to hear back from anyone regarding a permanent place to stay. We eventually did hear back, and relocated to Anacostia Washington, DC where my family still is today.

Two years ago, What This Place Meant began as a writing exercise in identifying and moving past this moment in my family’s life. I thought that if I wrote about my pain, it would help me move past the feelings of isolation I felt when I was around others; the feeling that some things in life were rendered inaccessible to me as a result of the fire, and that my childhood experiences would leave me forever incapable of connecting with others who presumed to live “normal” lives. After completing the first few drafts of the script, I began sharing this story with others after much resistance. I had never felt so vulnerable, and to my unfortunate surprise the act of sharing was not an incredible and insightful moment of catharsis. However, I came to realize that it was my duty in a sense to be vulnerable. I learned that my story was not quite as unique or isolated as I once thought.

Through the production of this film, I have met many others who were displaced in similar manners, yet none of these people allowed these moments to define their lives. Whether it was a fellow student pursuing their filmmaking career or a father who launched his own ice-cream truck business for underserved communities, these were people who came to be defined by their livelihood, not their trauma. Perhaps, this is the bridge these two years have prepared me to cross, to validate the stories of others and to acknowledge the resilience which came from them. Now onto the next stage.