The Metro: A film, cinema and a city reclaiming what was always its own

Detroit gave the world its sound. The world never gave Detroit its theaters back. Detroit has a pattern. It creates something extraordinary and the world takes it.

Techno was born here. In basements. By Black artists who poured everything into a sound that would eventually fill arenas in Berlin, London, and beyond. And somewhere along the way, the origin story got rewritten.

The same city that gave the world that music has spent decades without a downtown cinema. Over 300 theaters, gone. Big promises broken. The nearest commercial theater is still a 40-minute roundtrip from downtown.

Both of those stories come together at Campus Martius Park.

God Said Give ‘Em Drum Machines, the acclaimed documentary correcting the record on Detroit Techno’s Black origins, screens free. For everyone. 

The screening is hosted by Treuse Cinema, a boutique cinema concept working to bring film back to the heart of this city for good. And kickoff the Electric Roots Film Festival.

Jennifer Washington is the producer of God Said Give Em Drum Machines and the founder of the Electric Roots Film Festival. Kiara Williams is the founder of Treuse Cinema.

Both joined The Metro to talk more about the event and what this moment means for the city and techno. 

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