Deemed one of the most diverse cities in Colorado, Aurora has a bad reputation, says documentary director Julie Jackson. But underneath that rough exterior, the city is lively with restaurants serving food from around the world, a vibrant art scene and 160 different languages represented in public schools. So Jackson and her team set out to reintroduce the Denver suburb to the world in a new film called America’s Hidden Gem: Northwest Aurora, which debuted May 2 at the Aurora Fox Arts Center.
“We really wanted to sort of encourage people to reimagine and reperceive this area,” said Joe Fox, associate producer and videographer of the documentary. “No one wants anyone to say negative things about the place they live in.”
Filming took place from August through December last year and follows five individuals who represent various aspects of the city. Each person is vastly different from the other and shows the unique makeup of Northwest Aurora’s diversity and how the community reacts from within to the ongoing neighborhood transformation.
Among those the film highlights is immigrant Bianca Gardie, executive director of the cultural programming nonprofit Amigos de Mexico. She stepped up to support the immigrant community in Colorado and her story is used to highlight Aurora’s Language Access and Integration Immigration Plans. The city is the only one in Colorado to have such initiatives. The film follows Gardie and fellow subject Aziz, a Mauritanian refugee who struggles to find work but remains hopeful, demonstrating the challenges faced by newcomers in Colorado.
“The beautiful thing about Aurora is you can find every part of the world here,” Gardie said during the film.
America’s Hidden Gem also provides insight into the life of James Grevious, owner of Rebel Marketplace. After starting a garden to bond with his kids when he returned from the army. Grevious soon created a marketplace to sell their produce and has since tried to be a stable part of the community. It also features Thoa Nguyen who left her family restaurant to become a traditional pastry chef in France and returned to Aurora with her new knowledge to run her bakery, Banh & Butter. Both Grevious and Nguyen’s stories highlight Aurorans’ desire to keep things local instead of solely relying on large corporate food providers to nourish their community.
Tex Neila, leader of the artist group Miss Creants and goes by the name “Hobo Smutt,” is a Korean-American artist who uses art as a form of communication and healing and works toward putting Northwest Aurora on the map as an art scene rather than a place rampant with crime.
“People are scared from Colfax, Northwest Aurora because of the crime, which is a shame because there are a lot of good businesses,” Tex said in the documentary.
Documentary associate producer and videographer Joe Fox, who lives in Aurora with his wife, said the reputation of the city has often overshadowed the people who are doing good work to raise up the community.
“We’re aware there is a reputation of crime and poverty. The effects of redlining are still kind of prevailing, but we’re turning a new leaf now and the community is trying to take power into its own hands,” Fox said. “We want to talk about community revitalization from a community-led effort. We should all be involved to try to reclaim our community before really big developers come in and price everyone out or push everyone out.”
Director Julie Jackson, who was born in Aurora, reflected on the reason why she and her team chose to focus on Northwest Aurora as the subject of the documentary.
“What I really loved about this project was people coming together to consciously combat gentrification from a community perspective, like how can we work together?” Jackson said. “If nothing happens, then the community will be displaced and rents will go up.”
Understanding that various cities across the U.S. and Colorado face similar struggles to the ones showcased in the film, Jackson and her team have now moved on to phase two of the documentary process, which involves building a new steering committee with other communities experiencing similar challenges to Northwest Aurora. They’re also working with the Aurora Economic Opportunity Coalition, which strives to promote long-term wealth-building within the community. But for now, Aurora is basking in the glow of being seen and there will be another screening on July 13 at the People’s Building for only $5 a ticket.
“I hope it comes across as a story that’s homegrown because of all the interviewees and themes,” Jackson said. “We really want people to celebrate Northwest Aurora. Yes, there’s issues but it’s a really amazing community, culturally vibrant and with really good food.”