The Better Cities Film Festival, launching this weekend in Detroit’s Campus Martius, will feature films on critical urban issues, from environmental justice to sustainable transportation and placemaking, as part of the Detroit Month of Design.
The free festival, now in its 11th year, showcases films that explore how to make cities and neighborhoods better places to live, work, and play. Originally founded in Los Angeles in 2013, the festival moved to Detroit in 2020, recognizing the city’s unique narrative of reinvention, resilience, and community revitalization.
“The story of Detroit, its reinvention and resiliency, is emblematic of our film festival’s purpose and theme,” said Josh Paget, festival director. “Detroit is the perfect host city for a film festival about civic revitalization and placemaking.”
Planet Detroit has teamed up with the festival organizers as a presenting partner for two environmentally focused screenings on Saturday, September 21: “LET’S GET WASTED: Short Films on Landfills and Wastewater” from 1-3 p.m. and “LET’S GET DOWN TO EARTH: Short Films on Environmental Issues” from 3-5 p.m. Both screenings are free and open to the public at Campus Martius Park, 800 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48226. Stop by and say hi.
Here’s a preview of some of the films you’ll see:
Film Festival Spotlight: Lead In The Land by Cigdem Slankard
One of the standout films in the “LET’S GET WASTED” program is Lead In The Land, directed by Cleveland-based filmmaker and educator Cigdem Slankard. Slankard, who won the Emerging Ideas Award at Better Cities Film Festival in 2021 for her film Pretty Vacant—which transformed abandoned Cleveland homes into temporary art installations—brings her unique lens to this urgent topic.
Cigdem’s focus on lead poisoning resonates deeply with issues faced in Michigan, particularly in Detroit and Flint, where lead exposure has had devastating effects on communities. Detroit’s older housing stock, much like Cleveland’s, puts residents at risk of lead poisoning due to deteriorating lead-based paint and outdated plumbing.
One landlord in the film admits on camera, “This is my third kid that has been in my properties that has lead poisoning,” illustrating the egregious negligence often faced by low-income families.
Lead In The Land is part of a broader international project called “10 Children,” led by Dutch artists, highlighting how poverty impacts children’s lives worldwide. The Cleveland segment of the project focuses on how lead poisoning disproportionately affects children in low-income neighborhoods.
“I set out to make a film about the impact of poverty on children,” Cigdem told Planet Detroit “I realized that lead poisoning is something that predominantly affects children who are living under poverty.”
The film’s opening and closing feature works by poet Kisha Nicole Foster and musician Domanick Leach, who both have personal connections to the neighborhood and the issue of lead exposure.
“We wanted to start and end with art because it’s a way to connect emotionally with the audience. Keisha’s poem is raw and powerful—it’s a call to action that sets the tone for everything that follows.”
Cigdem emphasized the importance of hope in tackling these issues.:
“Without hope, there’s no solution, right? So we have to kind of acknowledge the problems, but also think about solutions and how we can move forward.”
Film Festival Spotlight: Mussel Matters by Lea Rodbarry & Jonathan Mullen
In the “LET’S GET DOWN TO EARTH” program, Mussel Matters: Saving Critical Species in DuPage County by Lea Rodbarry and Jonathan Mullen brings attention to the freshwater mussels of Illinois, highlighting their critical role as indicators of waterway health.
Lea explained, “Freshwater mussels are great ambassadors for the whole river ecosystem,” Lea told Planet Detroit. “Because whatever is affecting freshwater mussels is also affecting the fish and the macroinvertebrates.”
The issues presented in Mussel Matters echo many of the challenges facing many Metro Detroit waterways like the Detroit River, Rouge River and Clinton Rivers. Urbanization, stormwater runoff, and pollution are not just Illinois problems; they are local concerns that impact water quality and aquatic life in Detroit’s waterways as well.
“[Mussels] are great at filtering the water, but they’re also sensitive to certain pollutants, so they can only take so much of that,” Lea said. “People don’t realize how much our city infrastructure—things like stormwater runoff and old dams—disrupts these delicate ecosystems.”
The film blends scientific information with engaging storytelling techniques, such as humor and animation, to make the topic accessible.
“Humor is just a great way to educate because,, especially with environmental issues, there’s so much doom and gloom out there,” Lea said. “Yes, it is very serious, but there also needs to be some room for levity when we’re talking about these things.”
Detroit-focused activities outside of the screenings will continue throughout the weekend as part of the festival’s More Better programming, meant to inspire and spark ideas and conversations.
These include Friday’s Park(ing) Day Bicycle Tour, where participants can explore temporary parks created in curbside parking spaces, advocating for greener, more equitable streets. Events like these highlight the festival’s hands-on approach to reimagining urban spaces, inviting participants to think creatively about how we use public spaces in Detroit.
For more information about the programs and the full schedule of screenings, visit the Better Cities Film Festival website or stop by the Planet Detroit table at Campus Martius on Saturday between 1-5 pm.