- [Host] Just ahead on "One Detroit", it's Earth month and we'll examine the impact of air pollution on climate change and Detroiter's Health.

Also coming up, a special report on two of the featured documentaries at this year's Detroit Freep Film Festival.

Plus students at the Interlochen Arts Academy stage a production of the timeless fairytale "Cinderella" set to air on Detroit Public TV.

And we'll have some ideas on what you can do this weekend in Metro Detroit.

It's all coming up next on "One Detroit."

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We support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Visit DTEFoundation.com to learn more.

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(chill house music) - [Host] Just ahead on this week's "One Detroit", we'll talk with the filmmakers behind two of the documentaries showing at this year's Freep Film Festival.

Plus, Detroit Public TV airs a ballet version of "Cinderella" presented by students at Michigan's Interlochen Arts Academy.

And Cecilia Sharpe of 90.9 WRCJJ has the rundown on some activities and events this weekend and beyond in Metro Detroit.

But first up, we're continuing our coverage on climate change in recognition of Earth month.

Air pollution not only affects the climate but it can also have a negative impact on the health of residents.

Environmental activists near the Stellantis Mack Assembly Plant and in southwest Detroit are voicing their concerns over air pollution, while city officials are working to improve the air quality.

"One Detroit" contributor, Bryce Huffman has the story.

(synth music) - [Bryce] It's a sunny spring day on Detroit's Southeast side.

Most people would spend time outside to enjoy it but not Detroiter and activist Robert Shobe.

- Actually, I moved in here.

- [Bryce] He's staying inside to avoid breathing the polluted air outside of his home.

- I'm afraid to go outside and just breathe my air or do anything to that degree.

- [Bryce] Shobe lives on Beniteau Street and has been in his house for 26 years.

His home is less than 500 feet away from a Stellantis Assembly Plant on Mack.

Since the plant was built, Stellantis has been given seven different air quality violations by the Michigan Department of Environment Great Lakes and Energy.

The company has also been fined hundreds of thousands of dollars for these violations.

The 60 year old Detroiter said he and his neighbors have complained of burning and itching in their eyes and throat, difficulty breathing and even headaches and nausea.

Air quality issues contribute to climate change, the long-term change in temperature and weather patterns.

Shobe says the issues with air quality got worse when the plant began painting vehicles back in 2021.

- Well, first noticed a change in the air that would've been in May of 2019 when they first started.

But it was nothing near what it was like when they started painting cars over there.

- Protecting his own health and that of his neighborhood has been an ongoing fight for Shobe and the other residents who make up justice for Beniteau.

The group's goal is to hold the city accountable for air pollution and other issues resulting from the Stellantis Plant.

Representatives from Stellantis did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Shobe says he wishes the fight were over but he knows he has to look out for his neighborhood's future.

When you think about future generations growing up with these air pollutants what concerns you most about that scenario?

- I've been around the United States.

I've been a lot of places.

I've been around different plants.

It's standard practice to have a burn between a community.

Nobody is 400 feet away from a volatile facility like this.

They bagged into the fences.

There's no way.

I'm no scientist but I really don't see how they can make it safe for people this close.

- [Bryce] The city's east side residents aren't the only ones to feel the impacts of air pollution.

Southwest Detroit's 48217 zip code is notorious for being among the most polluted areas of the state.

- We're surrounded by more than 42 major and minor polluting sources, not knowing that the very industry that my father, my brothers, my aunts, my uncles and mom worked at were the very industries that were having an impact on our health far as air quality.

- This is Theresa Landrum, a longtime environmental activist and Southwest Detroiter.

Talk to me about these industry polluters.

What have conversations been like trying to make them more energy efficient, make them greener, make them safer for the community.

- Industry is here for profit.

We're here for survival.

So it has not been an easy road to talk to them about their industry's impact on the health of the community.

We have high rates of cancer, diabetes, heart disease.

You name it, we have it here.

We've been talking with industry and with the state as well as the EPA on emission reduction, that companies use the best available technology for pollution control.

Also, we've been talking with the state, the EPA and industry about alternatives that they can utilize.

Don't go the cheaper method because it's more profit for your company and your stakeholders and your board members.

Look at the very people that you are impacting.

- [Bryce] Landrum has also spoken with companies with a more global presence about their carbon footprint.

- Because we know that greenhouse gases are the things that are fueling climate change.

We're in the midst of a climate crisis globally so we have to look to other countries, other manufacturers other than the ones that are in our home, to talk to them about a global solution.

- [Bryce] Inside the Coleman A.

Young Municipal Building is Detroit's office of sustainability.

It's tasked with reducing carbon emissions and improving air quality among other goals.

We sat down with Jack Akinlosotu, the city's new Director of Sustainability.

- Yeah, I think one of the big things that we do overall is making sure that we're doing all we can to deploy all of our resources to lower the greenhouse gases for the city.

We want to make sure that we're doing all we can, whether it's building energy performance or deploying renewable energy across the city, we wanna make sure we're doing everything we can to ultimately lower our greenhouse gas emissions.

- We also sat down with the city's Chief Strategy Officer, Trisha Stein, who oversees the sustainability office.

Why is improving air quality such a big deal for a city like ours and with residents like ours?

- Yeah, well it certainly hits the most vulnerable residents the hardest, climate change and air quality, and our rates of asthma and public health are such that need to be addressed and make sure that we have mitigation efforts and it's applied in an equitable matter.

- What does improving air quality look like?

- Well, one of the things that our building and safety department is doing is really twofold.

Is they just got a grant for some air monitors and hired an air quality specialist.

So they are leaning in and and figuring out what role they can play to monitor the air.

Also a green buffer.

We've got a partnership with US Forestry to plant thousands of trees every year around the city and the mayor wants us to target the most blighted industrial sites to ensure that there is a green buffer.

- If you could talk to the office of sustainability about what's going on over here, what would you want to tell them?

- The first thing you gotta do is buy out the people over in here and you've gotta create a safety burn between whatever residence is left.

Do a factual study of what's happening here and figure out how to mitigate it from going any further.

We know they're not going to tear down a multi-billion dollar complex for us, but the first thing they could do is get this done right over here.

- [Host] And for more on the nation's efforts to have zero carbon emissions by 2050, make sure to watch the Nova documentary "Chasing Carbon Zero" on April 26th at 9:00 PM on Detroit Public Television.

Turning now to this year's Detroit Freep Film Festival.

The annual event takes place April 26th through the 30th at venues around the city and in virtual screenings.

It's the 10th year for the film festival which showcases the works of independent filmmakers.

"One Detroit's" Bill Kubota spoke with the creatives behind a couple of the featured documentaries.

(synth music) - [Bill] This year's Freep Film Festival almost here talking about a couple of selections, won the centerpiece of the festival for a scene in New York last November.

- It's the focus of a new documentary called "Coldwater Kitchen".

- That is perfect, man.

Thank you.

- [Bill] "Coldwater Kitchen", a Michigan story made by the Detroit Free Press that premiered at Doc NYC.

Now we can see it here in Detroit, along with several AAPI themed documentaries, part of a film series, Asian American Pacific Islander stories, including one with some history that touches all of us if we listen to the music.

- [Radio Host] He's got some history, Ben Fong-Torres.

I used to read of in "Rolling Stone".

- Ben Fong-Torres helped shape American culture period.

That was it.

- Suzanne Joe Kai, native San Franciscan, journalist and filmmaker.

The film, "Like a Rolling Stone: "The Life and Times of Ben Fong-Torres".

How did you get the idea to do this film?

- It was really an interesting casual conversation that I had with Ben and I've known him for many decades, actually.

Cuz back in the early days, when I'm like 21, 22 years old we were the first Asian American faces on television in San Francisco.

- [Bill] Asian Americans in the media, so rare back then.

- Then there's Ben.

Ben, that's interesting.

And then actually he came before us.

- [Bill] Ben Fong-Torres had a nationwide audience even beyond that.

- [Radio Host] Before the internet, before blogging, before tweeting, there was the "Rolling Stone".

There were superstars who worked there.

One of the biggest was Ben Fong-Torres.

- I just said, Ben, why isn't there a documentary about you?

And then he just said, "I don't know, "why don't you just do one?"

And that was it.

That's how it started.

So everybody knew Ben Fong-Torres.

Even though we were colleagues as working journalists, I thought this would be a nice short film and it would be exciting and rock and roll and then over and out.

- He's one of the great writers ever.

And there's some good ones, but not as good as this guy.

- Aw.

- So I figured it'd probably be a year or two.

(laughs) And it wasn't.

- [Bill] It would take more than a decade, over a hundred interviews and more to discover about Fong-Torres' family's deep connection to the Chinese American community in San Francisco.

Now part of that history there.

- [Ben] Having come from my background, helped to direct subjects and the way stories were done.

- [Stevie] It was like something that made me feel like because I was black, I could never be or I would never be.

- Ben has this amazing audio tape collections, probably 50 plus years old and I would hand carry them very carefully on the flights to get these tapes to our archive people.

And they actually would spend sometimes months just to restore the audio.

- [Bill] "Like a Rolling Stone: "The Life and Times of Ben Fong-Torres" modern popular music history intertwined with modern Asian American history.

Who knew?

If you didn't, you will when you see this.

- [Chef Hill] The hardest part is the math.

- [Inmate] Math is killing me right now.

- [Bill] Chef Hill teaches food tech at the Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater Michigan.

- [Chef Hill] He said, "No, look, listen.

"If you're going to go out there and work in this industry "you need to know what you need to know."

- [Bill] Inmates prepping for a very fine dining experience but still this is prison.

The chef's knives all tied down and accounted for.

- [Brian] Only knife a lot of these guys have held has been in battle.

And then you give them one and they're like, "Well, you're giving me this?"

And don't get me wrong, it's tethered, with a lock on it but yeah, let's cut some things.

And that trust is the first little bit of trust they've had in a long time and from that trust they create.

- "Coldwater Kitchen" co-director Brian Kaufman also earned a trust of the corrections department to let the cameras inside.

How did this film come about?

- So the film came about through a letter that was sent by a guy who ended up being a character in the film, Ernest Davis.

Longtime tutor in the program and he sent a letter to Mark Kurlyandchik, who's the co-director with me who was the Free Press restaurant critic at the time.

And Ernest's letter said basically, we got this program, we're doing awesome stuff, would you come out?

Mark went in his capacity as a restaurant critic, wrote a story about it, then approached me about doing a film.

- [Dink] But the personal aspect of it is the love and care that you get from preparing food.

And then when you give it to someone to eat, what you get back from that.

It is like you sharing of yourself.

They get to taste a little bit of you.

- [Brian] When you walk out though, and you go back to the unit, guys know you're in food tech, so you become a target.

- [Bill] Food, quite the commodity in prison, a harsh reality that, but reality can also be viewed in different ways.

- Part of what we try to do as documentary filmmakers is sort of bust the stereotypes and it's very easy to go in, make a film about prison and you're seeing clanging doors and you're hearing all these sounds and it's dark and moody.

And the classroom, the guard, and the food tech had such a warm feeling to it when we went in.

It's like, let's turn our cameras on this, the humanity that exists in this place that Chef Hill created.

(tool hammering) - [Chef Hill] I hear it all the time.

"Man, you probably spend a lot of money on those guys.

"There's a lot of people out here who are struggling," and that's usually where the conversation starts to go south.

That right there, that's some good eating right there.

And I know that everybody that's there is not there for the right reasons.

I mean, I get that.

Because yeah, we do.

We eat pretty good in there, but we eat with a purpose.

- The best part of the film is showing you the reality of it.

It's a harsh reality.

- [Bill] Chef Dink, another key character in the film, now running the Green Mile Grille on Detroit's East side.

- When you get to see that side of it and you see what this program is doing and the rest of the culinary programs that's in the Michigan Department of Corrections, it's just giving you a skill that can be used forever.

You scaring me to death.

- [Chef Hill] When I first met Dink-- - Do it like this, look.

- [Chef Hill] What I remember the most is-- - Pull it out man, this come out.

Make it easy.

You work smart, not hard, bro.

Here you go.

- [Chef Hill] He had this cool daddy walk.

- What y'all got going on up in here, man?

- [Chef Hill] I thought, okay.

I'm gonna have a problem with this guy because-- - [Dink] That smell so good.

- [Chef Hill] I think he believes that he's the do all be all.

But as we traveled that journey, it came out of me.

And then he likes to be in it.

And that's the whole thing.

You have to want to be in food service, to be in food service.

You can't fake the funk.

If it's in you, it's in you.

- Chef, he don't look at your file.

He don't care what you did to get there.

If he accept you in his class, he going to make it sure that you are qualified to do something when you get out of there.

It's not about getting in, it's about getting out and not going back.

That's the thing.

That's Chef Hill thought process.

- And Chef Hill is one of those rare people who operates with such a level of humility and kindness.

The students who come through his program can't help but taking what he has to say and running with it.

- And dealing with me.

That's the hard part.

I have you to talk to.

- [Bill] Brad, another outstanding cook.

He struggles with an addiction even while incarcerated.

- And I don't know which way to go.

- There's only one way to go.

You can't give up.

Don't give up.

I've never given up.

Push.

P period.

U period.

S period.

H period.

Pray until something happens.

That's exactly what it stands for.

- "Coldwater Kitchen", a Detroit Free Press production.

How many newspapers have a documentarian on staff?

- I don't know.

I do get called in to do some daily stuff, occasionally.

I started working here in 2007.

It was always my goal and the goal of the immediate leadership in the photo department to raise our video levels every year, higher and higher to the point where we're now making films that are competing with independent documentary filmmakers and being shown at the same festivals.

And that's sort of where we've taken our craft, the Free Press.

Let's create content that's not necessarily for the Free Press website, but can we get this out into the world through streaming platforms and treat it like other documentary content.

- Good enough chef?

- A little more.

Yeah, just kind of rub with your fingers.

- [Host] For 95 years, the Interlochen Arts Academy in Northern Michigan has prepared high school students for careers in the arts.

One of the art forms taught at the school is dance.

And Detroit Public Television will broadcast the Academy's production of Sergei Prokofiev's "Cinderella" on Monday, April 24th at 9:00 PM.

Here's a look behind the scenes of the ballet.

(synth music) (lively string music) (dramatic string music) This year, the talented Interlochen Arts Academy dance students have taken on a classic: Sergei Prokofiev's "Cinderella" ballet.

Bringing this fairytale on stage takes a lot of creative collaboration.

Here's Interlochen Center for the Arts Director of Dance, Joseph Morrissey.

- This is a huge production that of course involves the dancers but we also have some theater students, a large production crew, and of course the costume and technical teams as well, working behind the scenes to make all of this magic come alive.

The set pieces for "Cinderella" are custom made including a magic mirror, a staircase where "Cinderella" descends upon the ball and of course, a spectacular pumpkin carriage.

- Coming here and witnessing the spotlights and the sound and the tech and the carriage and the backdrops and the costumes, it really just makes you feel like Prince Charming.

- The dress for the ball is, honestly probably my favorite part because I actually feel like a princess.

It's so magical and it just helps me get into the character, which also helps translate to the dancing.

(dramatic orchestral music) Everything, honestly, it's really, really magical and it feels like I'm in a fairy tale the whole time.

(dramatic orchestral music) - I really like the garden scene.

I think it's really pretty.

I love all the costumes and the dances like the four seasons, I just think they're so pretty.

And my solo in the ballroom scene, it's very goofy, it's very silly, it's very obnoxious along with my costume so I really like that part too.

- [Host] Interlochen reached out to Ukrainian seamstress and costumer Galina Krasovskya for some of the dancers' eye catching ensembles.

- The costumes that we are seeing from the Ukraine include Cinderella's ball gown and a wonderful cape that coordinates with it, the fairy godmother's transformation dress.

And then all of the season fairies, so spring, summer, autumn and winter and their corresponding male cavalier dancers.

- [Host] For Director of Dance, Joseph Morrissey, this year's production has presented opportunities to try different ways to tell the classic story.

- I can imagine at times it's challenging because every day I come in with a new idea or I'll change an idea that I had the day before.

So it's very important for dancers to be open-minded and ready to receive, knowing that it's all in the best interest to showcase them in their best light.

(audience applauding) - I really enjoy the instructors here at Interlochen because they really focus on pushing the dancers.

Like me, for instance, I've never gotten a super big lead role in a ballet before this year, actually.

And then I got Clara and Dew Drop and now Fairy Godmother which I'm just so grateful and I just didn't think it would happen to me but they made it happen and they pushed me to do it and they obviously taught me a lot.

- [Host] And the gratitude of the dancers truly shines on stage.

- I love dance, I love these story ballets.

I love being able to reach out to an audience and touch them with my art forum.

And on top of that, I just love the interdisciplinary connection that we have here at Interlochen with all these different aspects of the theater coming together to make the ballet work.

So that has definitely been something that I have fallen in love with over the past three years.

(lively string music) - [Host] Let's take a look now at some of the events happening this weekend and beyond in Metro Detroit.

Here's Cecilia Sharpe of 90.9 WRCJ with today's "One Detroit" weekend.

- Hi, I'm C. Sharpe with 90.9 WRCJ.

Aren't you glad it's almost the weekend?

Here are some cool events coming up that you can check out.

On Saturday, the Michigan Philharmonic presents "Overture For Our Earth" to celebrate Earth Day.

The concert will be at the Salem High School Auditorium in Canton at 7:30 PM with a pre-concert talk at 6:45 PM.

The Birmingham Concert Band is performing Sunday, April 23rd as they celebrate their 45th season.

The free concert is at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer Birmingham at 3:00 PM.

April is Arab-American Heritage Month.

Plan a visit this weekend to the Arab-American National Museum in Dearborn, the first and only museum of its kind in the United States devoted to recording the Arab-American experience.

Ongoing exhibits include, Contributions from the Arab world, Coming to America, and Making an Impact.

And for all the Broadway fans out there, the one and only Audra McDonald is coming to Hill Auditorium on April 23rd.

With every song she tells a different story.

Definitely a performance you don't want to miss.

If you love to watch performances by music icons on the small screen, PBS has got you covered.

Check out "Joni Mitchell" receiving the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize and the "American Masters" on Roberta Flack.

You can watch both on demand right now.

There's so much going on in and around the city.

Here are a few more events happening ahead.

Hope to see you around and enjoy your weekend.

(synth music) - [Host] That will do it for this week's "One Detroit".

Thanks for watching.

Head to the "One Detroit" website for all the stories we're working on.

Follow us on social media and sign up for our weekly newsletter.

- [Narrator] From Delta Faucets to Behr Paint, Masco Corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy their living spaces.

Masco.

Serving Michigan communities since 1929.

Support for this program is provided by the Cynthia & Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism and Detroit Public TV.

The Kresge Foundation.

- [Narrator 2] The DTE Foundation, is a proud sponsor of Detroit Public TV.

Among the state's largest foundations, committed to Michigan focused giving.

We support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Visit DTEFoundation.com to learn more.

- [Narrator] Nissan Foundation and viewers like you.

(upbeat synth music)