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Staff Photo by Dan Henry
Dave Porfiri, left, stands outside of the Dalla residence where he has spent the last year working on an award winning documentary film titled "Main Street: More than a Home". The Dalla family seated from left, Joshua, 3, Nancy, wife, holding Josphina, 1, Joel, 2, and Baja Dalla.
Two local filmmakers have been selected to show their documentary at the National Brownsfields Conference in New Orleans this week.
"It highlights the energy of what's happening here," said Linda Duvoisin of Mindflow Media LLC. "That's what I felt when I was making the film."
Ms. Duvoisin and her husband, Dave Porfiri, were selected to screen their film "Main Street: More than a Home" as part of the annual Brownsfields Conference, which is being held today through Wednesday. It is the largest conference focused on cleaning up and redeveloping underutilized properties in the nation, according to a Mindflow Media news release.
The film documents the local Habitat for Humanity's effort to build the first LEED-certified Habitat house in Southeast Tennessee, Mr. Porfiri said.
The U.S. Green Building Council developed the internationally recognized green building certification system. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
The film shows various partners who worked with Habitat to create the house. It also shows area residents serving food to those building the house, Ms. Duvoisin said.
"It's not just talk and PR. Chattanooga is actually doing things," she said.
The film also documents the new life of the homeowner Baja Dalla, a 26-year-old African refugee who escaped civil war in Sudan with his wife and three children. The family moved into the house this year.
The film shows Mr. Dalla helping to build the house and he and his family moving into it.
The film is another step toward Chattanooga being recognized as a great place to shoot films, Mr. Porfiri said.
Movies filmed in Chattanooga include "Cobb" in 1994 starring Tommy Lee Jones, the "Adventures of Ociee Nas" in 2003 starring Skyler Day and "Fled" in 1996 starring Lawrence Fishburne and Selma Hayek, according to the Web site http://movies.toptenreviews.com/list-tennessee-chattanooga.htm.
Yolanda Putman has been a reporter at the Times Free Press for 11 years. She covers housing and previously covered education and crime. Yolanda is a Chattanooga native who has a master’s degree in communication from the University of Tennessee and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Alabama State University. She previously worked at the Lima (Ohio) News. She enjoys running, reading and writing and is the mother of one son, Tyreese. She has also ...
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