Directors Statements

Mark Lipman & Leah Mahan, Co-Directors of Holding Ground, Executive Producers of Gaining Ground

It has been such an honor to witness the evolution of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative since the early 1990s. We will never forget Rev. Paul Bothwell’s comments at one of the first screenings of Holding Ground. Someone in the audience asked why the community put trust in us as outsiders. He said that trust was not a given, but there was willingness to give us the benefit of the doubt and see how we worked. We are so grateful that we had that opportunity. Thank you, DSNI, for schooling us in the true meaning of community engagement. We are grateful to members of the Dudley Street community for sharing their story.

Llew Smith, Director of Gaining Ground

I grew up in Boston and the Dudley neighborhood was my stomping ground — summer vacation bible school at the Pilgrim Church, endless visits to the library on Bird Street, and movies at the Strand Theater. Consulting on Holding Ground in 1995 offered the chance to help share the story of this vibrant neighborhood where residents dared to strive for a different, inspired future. And with Gaining Ground, we strove to examine the commitment of DSNI organizers and community residents across generations, a narrative so difficult to capture on film because this kind of work is almost invisible, especially when it’s at its most impactful. It has been an invigorating and moving experience to direct the telling of this story.