‘Re-Entrification’ Documentary Propels Vital Housing Conversations in SF

Right now, we’re all thinking about the cost of living. The groceries and the gas. The sun-eclipsing luxury apartments and the people living without shelter in their shadows. Staying in the Bay and fighting for some concept of “home,” or relocating to a remote, more affordable region.

It’s a lot to hold, especially when you consider that the current housing situation is just another layer on top of a heinous history of redlining, land grabs and colonization — which needs to be addressed so we can actually change course.

This is weighty discourse, and art can open conversations to help us parse through it in community. One such work is Re-Entrification, a 65-minute documentary that turns to the people most impacted by the housing crisis to seek solutions. Helmed by director Fego Navarro and director of photography/editor Desire Lacap, the 2022 film screens March 9 in Redwood City as a part of an event organized by BraveMaker, and then it will be shown again on March 14 at the Yerba Buena Conference Room, as a part of an gathering supported by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

Re-Entrification features insightful interviews with people who’ve lived through evictions and periods of housing insecurity. There’s a candid interview with Jimmie Fails, the star and real-life inspiration for The Last Black Man in San Francisco, the most lauded narrative film about gentrification in the City. 

The documentary also features folks who’ve overcome mental health issues and drug addictions, as well as people working on the frontlines to create change and advocate for alternative approaches to housing. One suggestion readily referenced in the film, the tiny home idea, has faced its share of criticism from housing advocates. Whether you agree with it or not, the main thing to take away is the momentum behind rethinking how we house people. That’s where we should invest our energy.

The film’s interviews are coupled with beautiful b-roll footage — as well as some video that just shouldn’t have been shot. There are glorious images of the City wrapped in fog, showcasing signature San Francisco. And there’s footage of people presumably living on the street. It’s duly sad because of their situation and the fact the scene was shot from a moving car. Although they’re quick clips, people’s faces are shown in safari-like footage. It feels like a contradiction to the film’s mission to humanize people most impacted.

To this point, Navarro says, “We were in the [Tenderloin], driving around with no [filming] permits. Shooting guerrilla style.” He started his filmmaking endeavors while navigating distancing in the early days of the pandemic, and the first-time director admits it wasn’t a perfect process. It’s something he’s looking to make right by working with on-the-ground organizations in a forthcoming series on the same topic.   

A saving grace for Re-Entrification is the chorus of homegrown poets who all share messages of local pride, critiques of housing policies and a clear demand for land. The list of lyrical leaders includes Stephanie Franco, Porsche Veu, Lacy Nguyen, Aleja (“Aleja Ajela”) Cobarruviaz and even a few frames of San Francisco Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin.

When the poetic verses mix with the experiences of the interviewees, the film grows from a simple documentary to a vital push forward in the ongoing discussion. You know,  the discussion that everyone is thinking about.

This week, California voters weigh in on Prop 1, which would allocate $6.4 billion dollars to fund the construction of new treatment beds and housing units for those living with mental health issues. It would also give the state further control over how resources for unhoused people are managed on a local level.

Last week, in an interview with KQED’s Political Breakdown, Governor Gavin Newsom said this bill is the state’s attempt to make up for years of lackluster resources for Californians battling mental health issues and housing insecurities.

While the issue moving up the political ladder is important, so is hearing from the folks on the grassroots level. Re-Entrification’s director, Navarro, says that’s why his team is doing community screenings.

“I can’t say that I have a solution, but I would like to have a platform for the people who’ve been doing the work — who are in the community trying to make a change,” says Navarro.

Since the film’s release, they’ve held a dozen screenings, each one with a conversation to boot. Navarro points to a recent screening at the Brava Theater, where activist and former Board of Supervisors candidate Roberto Hernandez, former Malo band member Leopoldo Rosales and Ohlone Tribal Monitor Desiree Dolores Vigil (who also appears in the film) sat on a panel. “They’re the elders,” says Navarro. “They’ve seen the change and the evolution.”

Even with the insights from the elders and the fiery lyrics from Gen Z, a clear solution to the issue hasn’t shown its face. Navarro, a Salvadorian American born and raised in San Francisco, says, “At every screening, that’s the thing that comes up. People asking: How do we find a solution?”

An MC and creative director of the Lyrical Opposition collective, Navarro made this film on the back of grants from the San Francisco Foundation and the San Francisco Arts Commission. And now that it’s out there, he believes that this is a step toward finding the answer to thing that everyone is thinking about. The key, he says, lies in being in community, getting resources to the people and getting the information out to the masses. 

It’s a lofty goal for a problem that has existed since the creation of this country. But even with that starkness of this task, there’s optimism in the film. At the end of the movie, the narrator, Sineo, says the goal is this: “At the most, change the world. At the least, change how we treat each other.” 

‘Re-Entrification’ will screen Saturday, March 9 at 1840 Harding Avenue, Redwood City, and again on Thursday, March 14, at the Yerba Buena Conference Room.