Directed by Jeremy Xido, Sons of Detroit chronicles his life as a white man raised in a Black family in 1970s Detroit who returns home after 20 years to find his family scattered.
Reuniting with his cousin Boo, newly released from prison, he searches for answers about their shared past. The film examines race, identity, and the lasting impact of silence within one American family.
It is based on “The Angola Project” created by Jeremy Xido, Igor Dobricic
Sons of Detroit will premiere at DOC NYC film festival. The screening will be followed by a Q&A featuring director Jeremy Xido, producer Amanda Burr, co-producer Russell Stewart, and editor Elia Gasull Balada.
Here is the synopsis: After a heart attack on stage in Berlin nearly kills him, internationally renowned performer and filmmaker Jeremy Xido returns home to Detroit for the first time in over 20 years to confront demons from his past. As the only child of Marxist parents and the only white kid in his neighborhood, Jeremy was taken in and raised as one of the cousins in a Black family in 1970s Detroit. He returns home many years later to find their house in ruins and his family scattered. To piece together what happened, he searches out his cousin, Boo, who is also recently home after 20 years in prison. Together, the two men unravel tangled threads of race, belonging, violence, and love that shaped their lives.
Part love letter, part detective story, Sons of Detroit blurs genres, weaving together documentary, performance art, and storytelling. Through the story of a single family in America’s quintessential city, the film raises urgent questions. What does it mean to be white? What’s the price we pay for running from our past? How do we heal in the wake of tremendous destruction?
In an interview, Xido says, “I want to tell messy complex stories that are morally ambiguous about fallible people who wrestle with big things like hubris, love and remorse.”
Watch the first trailer for Sons of Detroit above.
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