Local Producer Talks About “Redlining: Mapping in Inequality in Dayton and Springfield”

Filmmaker Selena Burks-Rentschler is an Ohio filmmaker, writer and director and last semester taught in the motion pictures program at Wright State University. She’s just wrapped a project where she served as the Associate Producer of Redlining: Mapping Inequality in Dayton and Springfield a documentary that debuts this month on Think TV.  This one-hour documentary tells the story of local families who were impacted by redlining, and the lasting effects of this federal policy on our region. It also makes some surprising discoveries about the roots of redlining that trace back to our region, and some larger-than-life personalities who have been all but forgotten.  recently took time to answer some questions about her involvement with this project.

 

D937: How did you become involved in this project?

SBR: Gloria Skurski, the Chief Education Officer over at ThinkTV, invited me to apply for an associate producer position on a documentary about redlining in Dayton and Springfield. She read Richard Rothstein’s book, The Color of Law, and was inspired to make a documentary about the long term ramifications the federal policy of redlining had on the region. I later met with the film’s producer, Richard Wonderling and the three of us had a conversation on the importance to tell a local story, to not only discuss the challenges, but to also show the resiliancy of the communities who’ve been adversely impacted by redlining and other forms of housing discrimination.

We were all on the same page and that was incredibly valuable.  I lived in redline communities as a child.  And I remember not being able to wrap my mind around the reasons why my neighborhood didn’t have access to certain amenities such as grocery stores, doctors offices or banks. I knew something was wrong but I didn’t have the knowledge or vocabulary to describe what it was until I became apart of the production team.

 

 

D937: What do you learn from working on it?

Mrs. Lelia Francis

SBR: One of the first things I did was read Rothstein’s The Color of Law, it was required reading and rightly so. There was a distinction made between De Facto segregation and De Jure segregation. And redlining was government sponsored segregation.

When I studied the maps from University of Richmond’s Mapping Inequality website, and read detailed descriptions I was floored by the verbiage used to describe immigrants, people of color, and specifically African Americans. There’s so much I learned from working on this documentary, too much to say here. But I will say I learned about some of the local civil rights activists and heroes from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Most notably, Mrs. Lelia Francis. She was the first Black woman real estate agent in the nation and the first Black real estate agent in the state of Ohio. Not only that, she owned a successful real estate business with her husband and was one of the founders of Dayton’s first Black owned and operated bank, Unity State Bank.

 

D937: Why should people watch this? 

SBR: Our goal with this documentary was to inform, educate and create a space for dialogue around the discussion of our country’s history. When one group suffers, we all pay the price. In order to address the issues of racial disparities in health, education, economics and housing, we must understand how we arrived here. And as I’ve said before, knowledge is power. It’s essential to unpack the legacy redlining has had on the Miami Valley region because what happened here has happened in every major city across America. This documentary lays bare the government’s role in mapping our segregated cities and suburbs, which left many Black Americans with little to no options on ways to access the American Dream.


 

Airdates for the documentary are:

Thursday February 24, at 9pm on Think^TV16
Sunday, February 27, 1:00pm on Think^TV16

World Class Production Studios Coming to Dayton!

1913 Studios announces the purchase of 721 Springfield Street in Dayton, Ohio. The 210,000 square foot building will house three large production spaces, more than 60 offices and pre/post production support spaces that will support the next generation of cutting edge filming and media production. Construction is slated to begin in the first quarter of 2022.

“1913 Studios is excited to make this commitment to Dayton,” Joey DiFranco, co-founder of 1913 Studios. “This city has incredible infrastructure and a talent pipeline in terms of technology, media production, and the arts. We are looking forward to building our company headquarters here.”

Over the past year, 1913 Studios has been in conversations with organizations such as the City of Dayton, Montgomery County, FilmDayton, the Dayton Development Coalition, JobsOhio, and others as they refined their vision for the space. The facility will be a vertically integrated production studio that includes development, production, and editing suites all under one roof.

“We’ve worked hard to cultivate Montgomery County into a business-friendly area, and we’re excited that 1913 Studios has chosen to build here,” said Montgomery County Commissioner Judy Dodge. “This new, high-tech company is adding to our already diverse economy, and the content produced here will put the Dayton region on the map for media production.”

DiFranco and his 1913 Studios co-founder Seth Hummel both call the region home. DiFranco, a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, returned to Dayton in 2019. Hummel, who completed post graduate studies at MIT, is a Dayton native and lifelong resident who has started and grown a number of businesses in the region. “Dayton has a well known history of innovators who have created industry leading technologies. We plan to continue that tradition by cementing this city and 1913 Studios as the premier multimedia production center of the Midwest,” said Hummel.

“This project is such a creative way to breathe new life into a space,” said Maranda Camden, business development manager with Wilcon, the Dayton-based general contractor on the project. “The way 1913 Studios will creatively reuse this massive space underscores their commitment to Dayton. Wilcon is thrilled to be part of this long-term vision and energy that will be concentrated here.”

Rounding out the project team is the Dayton-based architecture firm MODA4.

“Dayton’s architecture and building stock provides so many development opportunities,” said Jamie Owens, Director of Business Development at MODA4. “Having spent years working on The Arcade, we can’t wait to dig into another large project that demonstrates what can happen when a building is creatively modified with aesthetics and technology befitting the 21st century.”

ABOUT 1913 STUDIOS: 1913 Studios will be home to a state-of-the-art production facility supporting technology, content development, gaming development, media production and the arts in Dayton, Ohio, a region that embraces opportunity and is supportive of rapid growth.

According to Dayton Regional Film Commissioner Lisa Grigsby, ” 1913 Studios are going to be a game changer for the film industry in Dayton.  Bringing new jobs, internship opportunities and National attention to the students of the Tom Hanks Motion Picture School at Wright State University, FilmDayton knows that the playing field in Dayton just got bigger and we are ready to take on the challenge.”

Join us in celebrating Julia Reichert!

Get your tickets now!

Netflix films Dave Chappelle Promo with Assistance from FilmDayton spent over $50,000 on hotels, catering, hiring local crew, including drone operators.

A full-length documentary film from Academy Award-winning directors Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar.

Dayton Premiere of 9to5 – The Story of a Movement Thurs, 10/22 at Dixie Drive -In

In the early 1970s, a group of secretaries in Boston decided that they had suffered in silence long enough. They started fighting back, creating a movement to force changes in their workplaces. This movement became national, and is a largely forgotten story of U.S. twentieth century history. It encapsulates a unique intersection of the women’s movement with the labor movement. The awareness these secretaries brought to bear on women’s work reverberates even today. Clericals were the low-wage workers of their era. America now confronts the growing reality of deep income inequality.

FilmDayton Moving!

We’ve got a new home at the Dayton Mall!
Located on the 2nd floor near JC Penney’s, our new space will host Film Connections and be available for our members to use for castings, table reads, small screenings and classes!

Recent Graduate Steps into the Workforce: Lauren Whitinger

Big thanks to  Lauren Amber Whitinger, an intern who worked with us in May from the Modern College of Design.  She helped us update some graphics, member info and had a chance to work on set with Chase Crawford on film being made in Cincinnati.

A full-length documentary film from Academy Award-winning directors Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar.

Dayton Premiere of 9to5 – The Story of a Movement Thurs, 10/22 at Dixie Drive -In

In the early 1970s, a group of secretaries in Boston decided that they had suffered in silence long enough. They started fighting back, creating a movement to force changes in their workplaces. This movement became national, and is a largely forgotten story of U.S. twentieth century history. It encapsulates a unique intersection of the women’s movement with the labor movement. The awareness these secretaries brought to bear on women’s work reverberates even today. Clericals were the low-wage workers of their era. America now confronts the growing reality of deep income inequality.

Congrats to Jeff Reichert, Julia Reichert, Steve Bognar on their Academy Award for American Factory!