Midnight Oil by Bilal Motley 
(USA, 2020, 30 min) Produced with Dan Papa

Midnight Oil chronicles the controversial last days of the now-shuttered Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery. The film follows refinery worker and first-time filmmaker, Bilal Motley, as he struggles to reconcile his love and kinship for his colleagues, and the growing awareness of the surrounding communities of color long affected by the refinery and their on-going fight for environmental justice.

The film will be followed by a post-screening discussion with director Bilal Motley and members from the Philly Thrive environmental justice organization, viewable on Scribe’s Crowdcast platform. Scribe Video Center’s Technical Director Dan Papa worked with Motley as a producer on the project and will also take part in the post-screening discussion. 

Midnight Oil will be preceded by:

EASON by Kevin Everson
(USA, 2016, 15 min)

EASON is a short experimental film about migration and the death of James Walker Hood Eason, leader of Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) of Philadelphia. Using historical information and new footage, Everson tells this forgotten fable of the Great Migration.

Engine 11: A Journey of Segregation and Self Discovery
(USA, 2010, 10 min)
Produced by Engine 11 Precious Places Group

Segregated from 1919 to 1952, Engine 11 was an all-black fire station on South Street. The firehouse recruits, known as the “leather lungs,” would often work the most dangerous jobs with little or no formal training. This video uses the stories of the Engine’s five surviving firemen to explore the station’s history and its contribution to the surrounding neighborhood, and to contend for its recognition in the Philadelphia Fire Museum.

Storyville: Midnight Oil