Resurgo

“The city’s motto was penned by Father Gabriel Richard after a terrible fire swept through Detroit on June 11, 1805. There was no professional fire department to battle the blaze, so Detroiters formed a “bucket brigade.” They passed a bucket of water from person to person, starting at the river and ending wherever the fire was. Detroit’s motto is “Speramus meliora; resurget cineribus,” which translates to “We hope for better things; it shall arise from the ashes.”  Resurgo is a conjugation of Reserget and means "I rise again”.

Its hard for me to name things that I care about, the name has to be right. For example our three daughters were all born at our home. Each one we took about 3-4 weeks to name. So naming this film has been a 10 year process. I had the idea for the conjugation of “Reserget” in 2014 while on Belle Isle staring at a plaque that describes the fire. I have one more year of filming and photographing, help me make a portrait of 2020. I invite you to be a part of the production, to help inform this story. contact me through my website stephenmcgeefilms.com” - Stephen McGee

Concept and Research section launching April, 2020

Two-time Emmy Award winning director and producer of “ Anthem of Us” “Move Here Move the World” and “One Day in Detroit", Stephen McGee, is proud to present a project about the city he calls home combining the 14 years of footage he has of Detroit with one more year of filming.

 This is an effort to capture, catalogue, and present stories that exist within this time of Detroit’s history. This local lens inspires thought-provoking sequences and will spend one more year documenting the diverse spectrum of Detroit. With stunning cinematography and innovative storytelling, this film challenges the image that Detroit is a decaying city and shows that right next door to the blight everyone knows about, there is abundant life, creativity, and opportunity.