Frogtown, Shorts on the New Urban Noir

about the single episodes

River Rafts
Ruben dreamed of becoming a designer but ended up as veteran of the notorious Frogtown gang, with bullets still aching in his body from the 1970s. He survived but swore to protect his people's heritage from being erased like the street graffiti of his childhood memories. So, he teamed up with filmmakers to steal Frogtown's story back.

Jigsaw Puzzles
Traumas accompany her entire life. So, healing became her profession. "In Los Angeles..." she says, "...therapeutic skills are a hard currency." Most recently she organized workshops for ladies with MeToo experiences and will host a gallery show with results.
To be safe, however, she returned to live with her adult children but avoids disagreements to prevent becoming homeless overnight.

Presidential Limousine
Charlie has been blocking his neighborhood streets with his rusty old-timer collection for 30 years. He is a "historian for hire" and firmly believes that a revival of early artists' colonies could create new common ground between divided politics, for which he dedicates an old state limousine from his collection for free Uber rides.

The Orchard
Letitia realized that the days of her family's era are over when she read in the news that Brad Pitt was hiding in her neighborhood. For years, trees have been cut down for new housing, warehouses were being replaced by design offices and the natural moonlight exchanged for prison lights. Her father's mom and pop store was also shut down. Now, however, she plans to reopen it as a supply store for the new colony of displaced "Urban Gypsies".

Birdhouse Village
David was born in Frogtown. He is the founder of the community garden "Jardin del Rio". He explains how his village is run by families, gangs, street culture, church, investors, Hollywood and the LA police. His goal is to bring the governance of Frogtown back into their own hands. But he knows, it is highest time, because the city is already sending in surveillance robots that look like R2D2 from the Star Wars galaxy to patrol their streets.

Taylor Yard
Cecilia, a widow and Mexican migrant, is tired of watching urban development repeat the discriminations of her past. Alarmed by the news that the toxic wasteland that fatally poisoned her husband should now become a park, she can no longer watch. She decides to get help from local artists and, together with them, create an illegal art piece to make the danger public.