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Summer/Fall 2024

It’s the summer of conferences, conventions, and gatherings of all sorts, in so many different places. In gathering, we create images and reports. Some of them are mundane. And some of them become talismans, like the photographs and videos of a former American president fist-pumping with a bleeding ear. But none of them, alone, are evidence of our togetherness or divisiveness. Because these documents, such as documentary films, are not merely snapshots in time. These images—and all images—are, as stated by cinematographer and filmmaker Kirsten Johnson in her keynote address at Getting Real ’24, “ongoing relationships between the people who made them and the people who see them, as long as they last.” That is, it’s up to us, in the now, to negotiate what happens after gatherings. This issue examines people, films, and filmmaking practices that make crucial decisions about which stories are bestowed with the power of being told and retold.Articles will be published online between August–September 2024.
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Doc of the Week


Backstreet to the American Dream

BACKSTREET TO THE AMERICAN DREAM is a bilingual documentary about Los Angeles street food and the food truck industry. By profiling two trucks, the film juxtaposes the experience of American entrepreneurs and Mexican immigrants, while also exploring the deep connection between food, culture, and community.

BACKSTREET TO THE AMERICAN DREAM takes audiences on a journey to explore how street food fosters inclusion, all while exploring the deep connection between food, culture, and community. Through the quintessential 21st-century entrepreneurial endeavor, this deep dive into the birthplace of the $2 billion dollar global phenomenon profiles two food trucks — the gourmet burger truck Grill 'Em All and El Pescadito, a mariscos lonchera (seafood truck) — and juxtaposes the experiences of American entrepreneurs and Mexican immigrants in the food truck industry.