- [Narrator] Coming up on "One Detroit".

We'll talk with the filmmakers behind a new documentary tracing one man's efforts to save a historic movie theater in Michigan's upper peninsula.

Plus, our political contributors offer their thoughts on the race between US Senate candidates, Alyssa Slotkin and Mike Rogers.

Also ahead, we'll preview a resource fair for refugees and immigrants hosted by Bridge Detroit.

And we'll run down some of the activities taking place around town this weekend.

It's all coming up next on "One Detroit".

- [Narrator 2] From Delta faucets to Behr Paint.

Masco Corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy their living spaces.

Masco serving Michigan communities since 1929.

- [Narrator 3] Support also provided by the Cynthia and Edsel Ford Fund for journalism at Detroit PBS.

- [Narrator 4] DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit PBS.

Among the state's largest foundations committed to Michigan-focused giving.

We support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Learn more at dtefoundation.com.

- [Narrator 5] Nissan Foundation and viewers like you.

(soft music) - [Narrator] Just ahead on "One Detroit", our political contributors give their opinions on the first debate between Michigan's US Senate candidates.

Plus Bridge Detroit hosts a resource fair to help refugees and immigrants adjust to life in a new city.

And we'll give you some ideas on how to spend the coming weekend in metro Detroit.

But first up, a new documentary titled "Marquee Town" tells the story of a Michigan movie fan who embarks on a quest to restore and reopen a historical movie theater in his hometown of Marquette.

The film, which also chronicles the history and culture of Michigan's independent movie theaters airs on Detroit PBS on Thursday, October 17th at 9:00 PM.

"One Detroit"'s Chris Jordan spoke with the film's two writers and directors, Joseph Beyer and Jordan Anderson.

(soft music) - You guys are the writer/directors of the new documentary "Marquee Town".

Tell us a bit about what the film is, the premise and kind of how you came to this project.

- The story came to us after I discovered Bernie Rosenthal's project to save a historic art house theater in Marquette.

And I found out that it had been the theater of his youth, you know, the place that he saw movies growing up.

And I just thought it was kind of a fascinating story, I think because it was sort of a David and Goliath challenge, you know, to find the money to restore this historic theater and then to run it as a nonprofit.

And I started telling Jordan about what I had discovered and we were both very interested in it and Jordan suggested that maybe we could do a short film because it was so visual.

And that short film turned into a two year project with a feature documentary our first time ever taking this on.

It is a story about a guy who tries to save a historic movie theater.

In the background, we hope it's also a story about 100 years of movie history because the narrative of the Nordic Theater is very much like the narrative of so many other single screen art house theaters, especially in Michigan.

- Lots in there kind of looking at the current state of movie theaters and sort of balancing like the love that we feel for these theaters and just the state of that business, especially in, you know, the post 2020 world here.

- Yeah, the bad news of course is how many historic places of all types are on the edge of, you know, being lost.

And during the course of making this film the Maple Theater, where we shot our only interview with Bernie Rosenthal, that was his new hometown theater, a neighborhood theater he adored.

And right as we were finishing the film, it was announced that that was closing.

- If you zoom on a little bit from a film we made about love of theaters, it's a film about what we've lost in these last few years.

And even what was leading to it is this sense of community, this sense of coming together, of not just feeling so isolated.

And so you find these things representing so much more than just the sum of their parts.

- I think what was kind of amazing then was when we took "Marquee Town" on the road, we did an independent film tour where we wanted to give back a little bit.

So we donated a hundred percent of the profits to the venues that we visited.

We did over 30 cities and along the way we have found thriving nonprofit community-based theaters that have kind of reinvented the model and created a sustainability and a kind of community around gathering for, you know, live theater, for movies, for music.

There were a lot of moments where we felt very optimistic, don't you think?

- Absolutely, I think I've never been more bullish on the viability of these spaces as you know, community gathering places and something that's bigger than just the movies that they're showing.

- Going back into the documentary, it starts with Bernie, but it really spins off from there into this whole history of independent theaters in Michigan in the early 20th century and how this whole ecosystem came to exist.

How did you guys as documentarians approach that history and digging into it?

- It was a rabbit hole that Bernie starts by launching his own project and we became fascinated with the Nordic Theater and then as we researched it, all of the characters involved, Delft Theaters incorporated, the company that built this technological wonder and was based in the UP they became a network all across the state and we learned so much about them and then came home and realized that the heart of our story was really Bernie's quest.

And so then we filtered all of the actual history through his eyes.

And so that's how we started blending cinema history with Bernie's story.

And then our breakthrough moment at a point of a lot of frustration because we had so many hours of interviews and so much to try and sift through.

But Jordan said we could use the language of cinema to tell a story about cinema.

And suddenly our documentary became a real movie because it wasn't an academic talking heads piece.

We infused a ton of comedy, we hope and creativity that helped you through this story, but do it in hopefully an unexpected way.

And if it lives on as a time capsule of a little bit of Michigan history, that would make us just so happy.

And if it inspires other people that are trying to do what Bernie did or facing challenges saving another place that would be even better.

- [Narrator] Detroit PBS will have an encore broadcast of "Marquee Town" on October 20th at 12:00 PM and next week on "One Detroit", we'll look at the plight of independent theaters closer to home.

Producers Bill Kubota and Chris Jordan will have a report on how some movie theaters in metro Detroit have managed to stay open while so many others have closed their doors.

Royal Oaks main art theater torn down two years ago.

In West Bloomfield, the Maple Theater closed and leveled this year.

In Macomb County, the Idle Roseville Theater, owned by the city awaits redevelopment.

While in St. Clair Shores business district, what was once the Shores Madrid Theater could become a restaurant and performance venue next year, changing viewing habits and the pandemic have taken their toll.

Despite that the Milford Independent cinema in West Oakland County is still open.

Its operator gave up the business in 2020, but a nonprofit was created to keep it going with first run movies and more.

- Let's get this game going, sound good?

- [Narrator] It's Monday night.

The crowd's here for a round of movie trivia.

- Remember please, no phones, no phones.

This is not what you can look up.

It is what you know.

Part of our mission is to bring film and film knowledge to the community.

We have some fun, we play for a couple hours, we sell some popcorn and that helps to keep our doors open as well and everybody has a good time.

- [Narrator] How do other movie houses stay relevant in the digital age?

- The fight always seems to be like, how do you get people to come into a theater instead of staying at home and watching Netflix?

- That's been a challenge.

You know, about what to show.

And certainly our content has changed quite a bit in the last 20 years as our audiences kind of aged out.

- [Narrator] The Redford Theater in Northwest Detroit opened in 1928, still here, thanks to a nonprofit that took it over in the 1970s.

On the city's east side, the nonprofit friends of the Alger Theater has worked to save their movie house for decades.

Their marquee serving as the community billboard - We put on our marquee messages weekly, right?

And we make enough money from that to pay our water bill and our electric bill.

- [Narrator] The Alger formerly projected its last feature film 40 years ago.

There's the proof up in the projection booth.

- "Friday the 13th", part five in 1985.

It's right there.

- [Interviewer] They didn't come back to get the reel, huh?

- Apparently not.

- [Narrator] Next week "One Detroit"'s Chris Jordan shows us around the long idle Alger, the still hopping Redford, and we'll meet historic Howell theater owner, Tyler Depero, and find out how he manages to keep his doors open.

- They're slotted on the side like that 'cause some people think... - [Narrator] Let's turn now to this week's first of two debates between Michigan's US Senate candidates, democratic US representative Alyssa Slotkin and Republican Mike Rogers, a former US representative.

Both campaigns have been running attack ads for several weeks in what has become a tight race for the seat being vacated by retiring Senator Debbie Stabenow, one Detroit contributor, Steven Henderson of "American Black Journal", Nolan Finley from the "Detroit News" and Zoe Clark of "Michigan Public" weighed in on the race and the importance of the seat.

(soft music) - We have an open US senate seat here in Michigan, one that will help to determine the makeup of the US Senate next year.

Stephen Henderson, we are less than a month before election day.

What are the issues at play in this Senate race in Michigan?

- Well, some of them, mirror the same issues that you have at the national level.

I mean, I think for Mike Rogers, who was a really competent and strong member of Congress for this state for a long time, the question is whether he's still the same guy who used to represent us or is he's some, you know, acolyte of Donald Trump's.

You know, he's been back and forth about that.

Hasn't been really clear about it.

A lot of his policies seem to be taking from the worst parts of the Trump platform, this anti-immigrant question.

Obsession with conspiracy and things like that.

You know, there's also this issue about residency, but now I see that someone's raising a residency about Alyssa Slotkin too, I don't think anything, any race really has its way, can find its way to its own footing in this climate.

Everything is really about what that national picture looks like.

- Nolan, we should note that the Detroit Free Press has endorsed Alyssa Slotkin.

And while your paper, the Detroit News has endorsed Mike Rogers in the race, I'm curious what you make of Steven's point about, is this the same Mike Rogers from 2014?

That is something that Alyssa Slotkin alluded to in this week.

- Well, that's her message.

I think he's a stronger candidate and will be a stronger lawmaker because he's went out and had private sector experience.

And I'd correct one thing Steve said.

Mike Rogers is not anti-immigrant.

He is against illegal immigration, as is much of the electorate.

The other big issue in this campaign, which has emerged as sort of the dominant piece of discussion is the auto industry and whether this headlong rush into electric vehicles is good for Michigan or bad for Michigan, and how much Chinese involvement in it should we tolerate in the interest of protecting national security and our industrial secrets.

Those are big questions that need to be talked out.

And I will give them credit.

They did give their opinions and they offered a lot of information on those issues during the debate in Grand Rapids.

My complaint there was, you know, we had a chance to see three really good Senate debates, widely dispersed Senate debates put on by the Michigan Debate Commission.

And for some reason Alyssa Slotkin said no.

So now we've got a couple of debates, one in Grand Rapids, one in Detroit.

We've got to get to the point where it's the expectation that if you're gonna run for these offices, you gotta do public debates.

- Steven, I'm gonna allow you on the soapbox too on this one 'cause I know this is an issue that both you and Nolan feel really passionate about.

- We need a better way to make sure that voters throughout the state, especially obviously for statewide races, get to see the two candidates talk with one another.

Sometimes we get close, sometimes we don't.

The the problem is that the campaigns have too much say in how it works and whether it's going to happen.

Something like a debate commission, which I have been talking about for a long time and have been trying to get together would solve that problem.

There are some people working on that right now.

They tried this cycle, they were unsuccessful.

As long as the campaigns have control, we're not gonna see this play out in any reasonable way, not just in this race, but, you know, we've got statewide races coming up in two years as well.

We'll have the same problem.

- What I think is really fascinating too about this race is how well versed and established in the issues and political and policy experience both Slotkin and Rogers have.

Right, one is a sitting congresswoman, one is a former representative.

What do you make of candidates with just sort of such experience coming together right now and talking about really big issues in our state, Steven?

- This is the best senate race we've had in some time where we've got, you know, two candidates who, as you point out, have the right mix of qualifications and experience to be on the ticket and voters have a real choice.

I mean, I don't agree with Mike Rogers on a lot of things.

And I think he's become part of a dangerous trend in Republican politics, but he is not unqualified for the seat.

And so when they can actually sit and talk about the issues, you know, voters get a real contrast, they get a real lesson in what the differences are between the two parties.

This is a good race, - This is a close race.

What do you make of the reason why voters just look at these two candidates and they're just so neck and neck?

- Well, it's neck and neck across the board in Michigan and across the nation, I mean states, it shows how evenly divided Michigan is.

This race has tightened to look more like the presidential race in recent weeks despite, you know, Slotkin's real spending advantage and fundraising advantage here.

It does reflect where we are politically as a state, I think and it's gonna come right down to election day.

- Steven, last word to you.

- Yeah, it's a close race because the presidential race is also showing to be close, I also think Slotkin still has work to do exciting the Democratic base in places like Detroit where voters don't know her as well as they do in other places.

There's been this gap between her and African American voters that people have pointed out that people are worried about.

I think on election day, that won't mean as much as it's meaning in the polls.

I expect there to be a significant over vote of black women in particular in Detroit that will also benefit Alyssa Slotkin and probably push her over the top.

But until then, you know, until that can actually happen.

I think the polls are gonna show this to be really close.

- And the next debate between Slotkin and Rogers takes place on Tuesday, October 15th.

Turning now to an upcoming community conversation and resource fair hosted by our partners at Bridge Detroit.

The October 16th event is designed to help refugees and immigrants new to Detroit get housing, social services, IDs and other necessities.

I got details from Bridge Detroit's engagement editor, Bryce Huffman.

(soft music) Give us a little rundown of what the event is and what made you guys decide to be the hosts of it.

- The event is all about, like this title suggest giving resources of all kinds to immigrant and refugees in Detroit and in the Detroit metro area.

The idea really came from us doing our summer conversation series, a series of four events.

One was on voter turnout and election access.

Another was on the fight for reparations in Detroit.

The last one we did was on housing and home repair.

- What's going on at the event?

Who's gonna be there?

What can people expect to see if they do decide to attend?

- As far as speakers go, we're gonna have city council member Gabriela Santiago-Romero from District six sitting on a panel.

We're gonna have Emmesi Mamba, who is the co-founder of Bao Bab Fair, the restaurant right over on Woodward and East Grand Boulevard.

And of course we're gonna have Lydia Rayas from Latino Family Services and moderating the discussion is journalist Martina Guzman.

We're really hoping to get a mix of people from different immigrant populations here to show up and get resources as far as things like housing, education, opportunities.

We're also gonna be signing people up for their Detroit ID cards at the event.

- Can you explain a little bit about why that's kind of a unique thing?

- Getting a Detroit ID is really important for people, specifically people who are under documented or undocumented residents because it allows you to have access to the things that we as US-born citizens might take for granted.

Being able to pay your utility bills, being able to get a library card, it allows you to do so many things that we don't think of on a daily basis as barriers to living a long, happy, healthy life in metro Detroit.

But this card can allow you to kind of break down some of those barriers and access that.

- Do we have any understanding of what the demographics of people who are landing in Detroit are?

Are we talking mostly families, individuals, children?

- I asked several organizations that are gonna be providing resources at the event about this and I got some conflicting answers.

So I heard a lot of people say that as immigrants are coming here, they're not always coming with their entire families all at once.

So it'll be one or two people from the family who get here and kind of set up their home here before the rest of their family has an opportunity to come.

So I also was hearing that a lot of the people coming here are younger and don't have families of their own yet.

So we're kind of hearing conflicting things.

But as far as numbers of people, I did see that according to the American Immigration Council, the metro Detroit area has anywhere between 397,000 and about 401,000 immigrants just in this area, which is about two thirds of the state's overall immigrant population.

- Oh wow.

That's a lot.

- Yeah, exactly.

So we're talking about nearly half a million people just, you know, immigrants in the metro Detroit area, not even including the entire rest of the state.

- How can someone get involved?

Where do they need to go?

What do they need to do?

- The event will be at the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation, right on Trumble on October 16th.

It starts at 6:00 PM so you can just show up to the event right then and there and get all the resources you need.

But also you could register ahead of the event on our Eventbrite Bridge Detroit.

Just Search BridgeDetroit one word.

It'll come up right there and that way you can get signed up, get all the information you need about the event ahead of time there, and bring anything you might need to get your Detroit ID card if that's something that you're interested in getting.

- [Narrator] There's a variety of events taking place in the Detroit area this weekend.

From fall festivals to art exhibitions, concerts, plays, and more.

There's something for everyone.

Here's "One Detroit"'s Sarah Sentarski with today's "One Detroit" weekend.

(soft music) - [Sarah] It's the last weekend for the group exhibition, "In An Effort To Be Held" at the Shepherd Art Center in Detroit.

The show features over 20 artists whose experimental works, explore materiality and form.

It also invites contemplation of the connections between bodies, materials, and the world.

On Friday, October 11th through Sunday, October 13th, the play, "The Danger of Hope", runs at the inspired acting company in Wall Lake.

The story touches on how hope starts to awaken students' hearts and minds and how the office of the newly hired behavior specialist could become the riskiest place in the school.

And Handcrafters hosts their Witches Night Out market Friday, October 11th at the Fall Fair and Embassy Suites, Livonia.

Market-goers can enjoy festive food and drinks, raffles, trick or treating, and meet the Sanderson sisters from "Hocus Pocus".

Also Friday, the premier screening of Satori Shakur's film, "Confessions of a Menopausal Femme Fatal" at the Marygrove Theater.

The standup concert special dives into the realities of womanhood, motherhood, and the stigma surrounding menopause.

On Saturday, Jim Henson's "Labyrinth in Concert" is at the Masonic Temple in Detroit.

A live band performs with David Bowie's original vocals as a movie is shown on a large screen.

On Sunday, October 13th, Owosso is hosting the Rockin' Rib Fest, where there'll be massive amounts of ribs to enjoy, ice cream and sweets, plus live music from "A Proper Axe", "A Ruefull Noise", and "Towner".

And just in time for the NHL season, there's a new exhibition popping up in Dearborn at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation starting Sunday, October 13th.

"Hockey: Faster Than Ever" shows the evolution of hockey from the technology used to the physics of play.

In addition, there are interactive exhibits to test your hockey skills.

Sunday is also Le Run for Le Rouge 2024.

The 5K Run starts at the Detroit City Fieldhouse and goes through historic Elmwood Cemetery.

Proceeds go to the Detroit City FC Youth Select Soccer Program.

- [Narrator] That'll do it for this week's "One Detroit".

Thanks for watching, head to the "One Detroit" website for all the stories we're working on.

Follow us on social media and sign up for our weekly newsletter.

- [Narrator 2] From Delta Faucets to Behr Paint, Masco Corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy their living spaces.

Masco serving Michigan communities since 1929.

- [Narrator 3] Support also provided by the Cynthia and Edsel Ford Fund for journalism at Detroit PBS.

- [Narrator 4] DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit PBS.

Among the state's largest foundations committed to Michigan-focused giving.

We support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Learn more at dtefoundation.com.

- [Narrator 5] Nissan Foundation and viewers like you.

(soft music)