Inner-city kids in north Philadelphia learn horsemanship alongside valuable life skills through their participation in an urban riding club in Fletcher Street, co-directed by Jannat Gargi and David Darg. We posed our Qs à la mode to Jannat and David, and here’s what they shared!
If we had to describe our film using only three adjectives, they would be: Uplifting, cinematic, intimate.
We wanted to make this film because: We were first drawn to the striking image of kids riding horses through city streets. But once we met El-Dog, Darrin, and the kids, it became something deeper. We fell in love with the community and quickly realized the urgency of telling their story, as the club faces growing pressure from gentrification and the ongoing struggle to fund programs that are vital to North Philadelphia’s youth. This isn’t just a film for us, it’s a chance to show up for a community and hopefully make a real impact.
The thing that surprised us most while making our film was: We were amazed and deeply moved by what it takes to keep this place alive. Founded 20 years ago by Ellis “El-Dog” Ferrell, the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club is now carried forward by his son Darrin and a small group of volunteers, who somehow balance full-time jobs with the constant demands of the club. Every day is a grind: mucking stalls, exercising horses, showing up for the kids, and keeping them safe and focused. It’s exhausting, physical, and emotional work that never really ends. And, yet, they do it with so much love. You can feel how much they care, how invested they are in these kids and in each other.
My favorite moment/scene/sequence in our film is:
David Darg: Ellis getting on the horse, which is such a moment of triumph.
Jannat Gargi: The camping scene — seeing them out in nature vs. an urban environment, and the joy and freedom they are experiencing. Not just the kids, but the horses, too.
Our most invaluable piece of doc-making equipment was/is: Our rubber boots which we had to wear daily in the stables to keep from being covered in horse manure! But, seriously, the gimbal, which allowed us to capture all the scenes of our subjects riding through the streets of Philadelphia as we were shooting from the back of a pick-up truck.
My must-have snack to get me through hours in the editing room is:
DD: Pistachios.
JG: Kale chips.
One piece of documentary-filmmaking advice we’d like to share with aspiring documentarians is: Don’t rush to shoot, even though often times your instinct is to want to shoot everything. Building trust with your subjects is a critical first step.
Want to check out Jannat and David’s film or just learn more about it?
Get the scoop, and your tickets, here!
