Six years ago, University of Michigan students Gizachew Tessema and Rauzar Alexander set out to make a film about a poetry project at the Boys and Girls Club in the Robert Taylor Homes when they came across a much bigger story. The development was on the cusp of the biggest public housing redevelopment in the nation, which would see all the city’s high rise projects eventually torn down and residents scattered around the city.

“There was a candlelight vigil about the issue. Residents were just getting news of the proposed plan,” says Tessema, 28, now living in Washington D.C.

Tessema and Alexander (who is now in film school at NYU) say they were struck by the history of the Robert Taylor Homes, from their construction as an experiment in social control to the generations of close-knit families that grew up there.

They decided to take on a much larger film project than they had originally planned, making a feature-length film about the history and character of the Robert Taylor Homes. The film would be largely focused on the story of resident and leader Barbara Moore and her family. Moore moved to Robert Taylor in 1965 and has been there since, currently living in 5266 S. State Street, one of only two remaining high rises in the development.

“She’s an individual [who is] not out for herself.  She sees all the residents as her family,” says Tessema. “She is disabled and has health problems, but she’s the strongest woman I’ve ever met, a true matriarch.”

While the redevelopment of public housing and displacement of many families is the current face of public housing, that will not be main focus of their film. Rather, they want to paint a wide-ranging portrait of the development and the families who live or have lived there.

“We’re sitting them down and asking them to recollect, asking for old videos and newspaper headlines to conjure up the time,” says Alexander, 28.

They are not taking a political stance on the redevelopment, but rather trying to dispel stereotypes and enlighten the public about the residents and their situation.

“These are real people who grew up in these projects for generations, not just headlines, stereotypes and stigmas,” says Tessema. “Even through their struggles the human spirit endures.”

Having filmed thousands of hours of film and digital video over about five years, they are currently in the editing and ongoing fundraising stages of the project. They hope to finish the film by the end of the summer and submit it to film festivals and other venues.

“We epitomize the guerrilla filmmaker,” says Alexander. “Next to no budget, surviving on nothing, trying to tell a story…it’s a beautiful thing. We have a struggle of our own that’s helped us connect with the residents.”