GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — "Oppression is not a simple thing," said Kate Levy. "If you have a belief set that is dependent on denigrating people or entire communities, you're going to keep doing that subconsciously or consciously."
Kate Levy is a filmmaker and activist who has captured hopeful and harrowing stories for over a decade.
Growing up in Royal Oak, a suburb of Detroit, Levy saw firsthand the disparity in the city she'd confront years later.
"Why does it look so different?" Levy recounted. "What happened to the city that makes it where there are vacant buildings, closed stores and people who don't have homes?"
As Levy discovered these deep-rooted questions in the world around her, she began her journey in filmmaking. Even though she started her career in photography, Levy moved towards filmmaking for her stories to reach larger audiences.
"I felt like the the media was blaming Detroiters for problems they did not create," she said. "So I started working with activists all over Detroit to help understand what narratives should be told to counter the narratives that were incorrect."
This kicked off a decade's worth of discovery. Discovery through her craft, and discovery of deep-seated social and economic issues that plagued the world around Levy.
"Films make space for people too as audience members relate on a number of levels and see themselves in it," said Levy. "When you hear somebody talk about their experiences, you're able to relate to those much more than when you just see someone and don't get to have a conversation."
Some of Levy's most decorated works include a documentary short titled, Detroit Will Breathe (2021). A film used in a lawsuit against the city of Detroit, in which the city opted to settle to those injured in Black Lives Matter protests which occurred in 2020.
"People could talk about policing on a much broader scale and understand the belief sets that led to such violence being inflicted on protesters," said Levy.
Levy also has a feature documentary film titled, Whose Water (2022) which brought communities across the Midwest together to continue the fight for safe and clean drinking water. During her time shooting the film, she discovered the multitude of impediments the nation has in securing drinking water for all citizens.
"Sometimes it has to do with the funding for infrastructure, sometimes it has to do with with industrial pollution, sometimes it has to do with a municipalities priorities [or] the federal government's priorities," Levy explained. "It wasn't just about making a film, it was about organizing people through the act of making a film."
Levy has found a personal drive in her work with Cosecha, an organized community of advocates fighting for the rights of undocumented immigrants in the United States.
Levy will be showing a short documentary at the showcase at the Wealthy Theatre highlighting the group's push to grant driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants through their "Drive Without Fear" campaign.
"Members of Cosecha will be joining us to talk a little bit more about this work. I hope that people have an opportunity to connect with them," said Levy.
Connection is the central idea behind all of Levy's work, as she seeks to unite communities amidst times of separation through the art of storytelling.
"It's as important to help people tell their own stories about what they're experiencing and share their analyses about why they're experiencing it, and give people information that backup their analyses; as it is shedding light on the belief sets of people who are implicated in systems that oppress others." Levy proclaimed. "That experience for them can be liberating. And watching liberation is very exciting to me."
Levy's works will be presented by the Grand Rapids Film Society Friday, March 1 at Wealthy Theatre at 7 p.m. The event is "pay what you can" with no set ticket cost. The Grand Rapids Film Society said they encourage a $5 dollar donation, but it is not required.
You can find more information about the event, and Levy, on the Grand Rapids Community Media Center's website.
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