“Sometimes the ancestors push forward stories that need to be examined in a new context.” - Phyllis May-Machunda

From the moment we began working on this film, we tried to find any photograph or illustration of the church or cemetery on Cherry Lane. Despite our best efforts, we came up empty-handed, until we realized there was a new way to think about this film.

That’s when we turned to art to help tell Cherry Lane’s story.

Thanks to curator Lazarus Nazario, a painter from Staten Island, we’ll be working with these multidisciplinary artists in creating their interpretation of Cherry Lane Cemetery.

We’ll film them meeting the descendants of those buried there, visiting the site itself, at work creating in their studios, and the resulting exhibition. Stay tuned for updates as we film. Here’s a sample of their previous work with links to their sites.