Our parents say, when we hear gunshots we should duck and go other places where we can be safe. Our parents tell us to get on the floor.
—Mustapha and Jyeshria Carron
The Short
Welcome to Richmond, California, the most dangerous city in the state—and the 11th most dangerous city in the U.S. With an average of one homicide every 10 days, many parents are afraid to let their children outside. Nine-year-old twins Mustapha and Jyeshria know they can’t go to the park unaccompanied. “Your parents need to be there with you, so they can block the bullet,” Jyeshria explains. In 2006, fed up with the gun violence decimating the city's young men, residents took over the four most dangerous parks, camping in tent cities in a desperate stand for peace.
Filmmaker Bio
May Lin Au Yong
May Lin Au Yong is the director of Steadfast Films and a graduate documentary film student at Stanford University. Previously she was a reporter and current affairs producer for Channel News Asia, headquartered in Singapore. Her broadcast work has been featured in various international competitions including the New York Festival, CBA Broadcasting Awards and the International Emmy Awards.
Film Credits
Featuring
June Skillman Carron
Mustapha Carron Jr.
Jyeshria Carron
Director
May Lin Au Yong
Camera
Peter Jordan
Production Assistant
John Kane
Sound Mix
Dan Olmsted
Technical Assistance
Mark Urbanek
Faculty Advisors
Kris Samuelson
Jay Rosenblatt
Thanks
The Au Yong family
Lee Foong Ming
Rohana Mohd
Amelia Loh
Robert O Brown
John Carlson
Bob Smith
Made possible in part by a product grant from Kodak
Produced in the Documentary Film and Video M.F.A. program, Department of Art & Art History, Stanford University
A Steadfast Films production © May Lin Au Yong 2006
the National Endowment for the Arts