[Filmadelphia] Barry Jenkins’ ‘Remigration’

Director: Barry Jenkins
Writer: Barry Jenkins
Stars: Russell Hornsby, Paola Mendoza and Avelina Salazar

[A]s part of the ITVS Futurestates Sci-Fi Series of 11 short films that explore “possible future scenarios through the prism of today’s global realities,” Barry’s Remigration is a notable submission:

[sws_blockquote_endquote align=”” cite=”” quotestyle=”style03″]For me, working in this genre was more about a social projection rather than a technological one. -Barry Jenkins [/sws_blockquote_endquote]

With reverberating themes from Medicine For Melancholy, 2008, the burgeoning director in Mr. Jenkins takes head-on, one of the many social ills confronting the poor and the marginalized – who happen to be – mainly people of color.

Remigration touches on an important social issue in a predictive manner for a near future in American society, San Francisco to be precise.

Gentrification is the word – the new form of segregation. In its wake, it leaves many people dejected and angry. Hence Remigration is the sugar-coated counter tool of the Gentrifier to stem any real efforts for change. Through this short film, Mr. Jenkins brings an exhilarating insight to the complexity and notoriety of the forces that control gentrification itself, as well as prevent the possible revolution of the poor against it.

This is why we need educational pieces like Remigration. It brings the awareness we lack in truly grasping the way these social programs affect our communities and how they ruin our peaceful existence in the future. Gentrification works, perhaps, because the people are unaware of its pathology. News media, for example, will not publish any description of its practice and the mainstream media conspire to keep it hidden from the fair-minded voters of San Francisco.

In the 1970s, when gentrification was first introduced to San Francisco, one Justin Herman ran the Redevelopment Agency. Justin employed educated Blacks to stand between him and the community. These men were called area directors. They were the people who made the hollow promises. Can you believe they actually believed that the displaced homeowners would be allowed to come back?

In some ways, Mr. Jenkins’ Remigration plays on that stupidity and idiocy. We quickly learn that gentrification has accelerated in San Francisco and a selective re-settling of a few – I guess you can call them the token poor – is underway. This is where the couple, Kaya (Russell Hornsby) and Helen (Paola Mendoza), and their sickly infant Naomi (Avelina Salazar) are caught between the crevices of indecision and frustration. Additionally, Kaya and Helen can’t trust the Gentrifier. They’ve been fooled, used and abused many times and fed false promises.

On one hand, Kaya and Helen do not want to sell-out. They don’t want to be the token poor that would create a false semblance of an improving society. They would admire a complete over-haul of the system that is perpetuating this form of segregation. On the other hand, they have a daughter who really needs all the medical help they can get from resettling (selling out). Jonathan (Rick Yune), the overseer of this remigration program is relentless in pointing out the immense family benefit to them.

What would you do? This is the question central to Remigration!

When public housing is under attack – unfortunately, public housing now occupies prime real estate – and the Housing Authority, the Redevelopment Agency and the Mayor’s Office of Community Development are all spending their discretionary money co-opting what might otherwise develop into leadership for real change, what would you do?

Sell out or revolt?