Cine Golden eagle award-winner SOUTHWEST REMEMBERED: A Story of Urban Renewal (SWR) chronicles and gives insight into the history and legacy of the urban renewal that has touched more than 800 American communities since the 1950s. This 50-minute film uses a small community in Washington D.C. as a microcosm and weaves together interviews, historical photos, film footage and original music to capture the radical transformation of this community through urban renewal. The film also addresses some of the most pressing issues facing today's cities: the preservation and creation of racial and economic diversity, the role of government in fostering and shaping community, and the value and texture of community in a large urban setting.  Fifty years ago, Southwest Washington was a racially, ethnically mixed community that contained within its borders the range of the poorest of people to the solidly middle class.  When redevelopment efforts to clean up inner city slums began in the late 1940s, Southwest was selected as the first area for redevelopment because it contained the worst slums in the city. The project began as an effort to clean up the slums, provide better housing and upgrade the community.  It ended by changing the face and character of Southwest forever.  The community was bulldozed, then rebuilt.  Twenty-three thousand people and fourteen hundred businesses were displaced. 

SWR premiered on January 19,1991 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. It was awarded a CINE Golden Eagle in April 1991, placed as a finalist in the first ROSEBUD Festival held in 1991, and in May 1992 received a Certificate of Award for Excellence from the American Association of University Women.

SWR has been shown at various community events, such as the Smithsonian Museum's exhibition, Extending the Legacy: Planning America's Capital for the 21st Century in July 1996, and the National Building Museum's exhibit "The New American Ghetto" in February 1997. 

SWR was used as part of the D.C. Public Schools social study curriculum. A study guide to accompany the film was developed specifically for D.C. Public Schools with a grant from the Eugene and Agnes B. Meyer Foundation. A partnership later was formed with the D.C. Public Schools Center of Performance-Based Education Curriculum. A screening of the film and an introduction of the study guide to D.C. Public Schools Social Studies teachers was presented on November 7, 1996 at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. The audience gave the film and study guide a very enthusiastic reception and a lively discussion followed the presentation. The Study Guide also was supported by the Humanities Council of Washington,D.C., the National Endowment of the Arts, the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Washington Gas of the District Columbia, and COMSAT Corporation.

SWR was developed with funding mainly from the Humanities Council of Washington, D.C., the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy, Virginia Environment Endowment, Citibank, and Hechinger.

Southwest Remembered is a film about community.

• Former Assistant Superintendent, District of Columbia Public Schools, Roger J. Fish describes Southwest Remembered as "an excellent video ...which grapples with the fundamental issue of what is a community and how well-intended social policies can disrupt and even destroy the complex fabric of a community."
• "well researched narrative....(that) makes Southwest an unforgettable piece of Americana...This production is a valuable contribution to many fields of study..." - The Video Rating Guide for Libraries
• Maryland Public Television calls it... "a terrific program."

This film is available on DVD for $25.00, and $5.00 shipping. Other formats are available. 
 

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