As its 23rd annual edition migrates to virtual spaces to respect public health guidelines to contain Covid-19, the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival (FLEFF) presents “Infiltrations:  A Different Media Environment,” an online media exhibition.

This newly-launched, rapid-response exhibition of place-based, participatory documentary and experimental media underscores the galvanizing power of the international independent media scene during this unprecedented global public health emergency. It is a co-production between FLEFF and the Park Center for Independent Media.

Stolen Dreams II by Youth Art & Self-Empowerment Project (YASP)

Project Facilitators: muthi reed and Aleks Martray

Through this film, YASP breaks down the myth that trying youth as adults is a real solution to violence, and shows instead the ways that youth and violence and youth incarceration are actually two pieces of the school-to-prison and school-to-grave pipeline.

Seeds of Awakening: The Early Nation of Islam in Philadelphia by The New Africa Center (Islamic Cultural Preservation and Information Council, ICPIC)

Muslim Voices Coordinator: Jullanar Abdul-Zahir

Post Production Facilitator: Zein Nakhoda

The New Africa Center has produced a video documenting the development and growth of the Nation of Islam in Philadelphia circa late 50’s-early 60’s. Told through first hand accounts by pioneers of the community, this video paints a portrait of a black nationalist, social reform movement that inspired self determination and economic development within the African American community.

St. Augustine Church, Philadelphia: Immigration & Filipino Transformation by Filipino American National Historical Society

Humanities Consultant: Dr. Joanie Cordova

Production Facilitator: Napoleon Juaniza 

St. Augustine Church has been continually transformed by immigrants throughout its two-century history. It has nourished many generations, beginning with Irish and German immigrants, who have made their home in the river wards of old Philadelphia. Anti-Irish, anti-catholic nativists burned the church to the ground in 1844, but the church was rebuilt and subsequently became a major institution of the neighborhood.

Villa African Colobó by Grupo Motivos

Production Facilitator - Michael Kuetemeyer & Anula Shetty

Humanities Consultant - Rickie Sanders

Post Production - Michael Kuetemeyer & Anula Shetty

The African influence is rich at El Colobó, a garden in the Norris Square neighborhood of Philadelphia. Created by Grupo Motivos, an organization of women of Puerto Rican descent who formed a support network for the affirmation of their identity, El Colobó is the neighborhood’s first African garden. It is a place where community members gather to learn about their African heritage and celebrate the influence of African cultures in Puerto Rico and North America through art, dance, music and agriculture.

Palmer Cemetery: The Heart and History of Fishtown by the Fishtown Neighbors Association

No one seems to know exactly how many people are buried in Fishtown’s Palmer Cemetery. Created for the community by the merchant Anthony Palmer in the 1730s, the cemetery has been such a popular final destination for residents over the generations that the community’s historians have lost count of its eternal tenants, which could number as high as 50,000.

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