(WXY) — At a time where our Detroit Lions are on fire, and it seems people across the country are talking about the "comeback" of Detroit, a Detroit documentary is now in the running for The Oscars.
Detroiter Stephen McGee is the director and cinematographer of the compelling documentary Resurgo Detroit.
McGee has been working on the piece for the last 20 years.
We spoke with him at his studio inside Newlab in Detroit, "I see my house from this window, and I’d wake up at 3 a.m. cause I’d need to go edit, just to make this deadline."
McGee pushed to get the film submitted this year.
"Honestly, the Detroit Lions winning this year was a massive motivator," said McGee. "Every time they won, I’m like, ‘I gotta get this thing done, I gotta get this thing done, I gotta get this thing done.’ Because the world is already, I think even last year, the Lions winning opened up the ears and the eyes of the world that Detroit’s story was worth listening to outside of the context of abandoned buildings. Like, we’re gonna cheer for this."
As far as what the name means?
"Resurgo, I rise again in Latin," explained McGee.
Looking around his studio, McGee jokes that it is essentially a Rubik's cube of his brain.
It's covered in notes and Detroit photography, all of it used to shape the documentary.
"I filmed in every neighborhood in the city," said McGee.
When watching the piece, you'll hear the story of Detroit told by Detroiters, including voices like Big Sean and jessica Care moore.
Care moore is a highly revered poet and the producer of the documentary.
She said; "Detroit is actually what made me great, what made me a great writer and poet, I came out of black box theater at Joy Road at Cody High School."
She continued, "It’s not a linear kind of documentary with talking heads, it’s actually getting inside the city in a different kind of way, and talking to real people."
McGee shared that on December 18, he'll find out if Resurgo is a top 15 contender for The Oscars "featured documentary film."
Its purpose is to amplify the voices of Detroit, take back the narrative, and show the world who Detroit really is.
"A big thing is people are saying that Detroit never left and that it’s a comeback story," said McGee. "Well, if this is the greatest comeback story of the century, it began in the people who never left."
Resurgo Detroit will be released for viewing in 2025.
