What’s Happening in Kent?

This is a documentary about events in my hometown during the first summer of the COVID-19 Pandemic. It was made from excerpts of interviews and photography I collected in July and August 2020, along with video I took at the Black Lives Matter rally in June. I had a lot of time on my hands this summer and decided to try to figure out for myself a little bit more of what was actually going on around me. In a time of a lot of isolation and uncertainty, this was an honor to get to put together, especially when witnesses the incredible volunteer coordination through Kent Community Partners, the political tensions of a time of crisis, and the local activism around BLM. It was also my first experience editing a full length piece, structuring a documentary, and posting to YouTube.

Creative Team: Naser S Alhashimi (Associate Director), Adera Gandy (Voiceover), Armand Hopkins (Music)

Featuring: Hoda Abdullahi, Tonya Ballard, David de la Fuente, Brenda Farwell, Kendrick Glover, Kelly Guy, Zenovia Harris, Leslie Hickey, Gina Howell, Tom Howell, Taffy Johnson, Satwinder Kaur, Diana V. Krishna, Ginger Kwan, Tahmina Martelly, Cathy Mayo, Cyoon Mcbride, Lucas McClish, Abdur Mirr, Dave Mitchell, Rafael Padilla, Dana Ralph, Aubrey Shinholster, Jen Singer, Navia Taylor, Calvin Watts, Tye Whitfield, and others.