April 16, 2013

Ferasha Films Founder Amanda Danziger, a Westphal alumna, is building her film production company on projects that serve the community and better the world. She reimagines the Hollywood premiere for her pro-social films as thoughtful, engaging events and was recently tagged one of Drexel’s Forty Under Forty. 

Her recent film “The Backyard Philly Project” is a documentary that tells the stories of four teenagers from an impoverished Philadelphia neighborhood known as “Penn Town.” Danziger and Ferasha Films invited the four high school students to document their lives and their view of Philadelphia poverty through video journals using flip cameras. 

Filming began in October 2011 and concluded in June 2012. The project included classes for the four teens to help them learn how to use their cameras to tell their story. “The Backyard Philly Project” is the result of this work and it will premiere May 10-11, 6 p.m. at Drexel University’s URBN Center Annex Screening Room.          

Danziger admits she was delighted when Entertainment & Arts Management Prof. Brian Moore contacted her this past winter about hosting “The Backyard Philly Project” at Drexel. “He gave me a tour of the new facility and I instantly fell in love,” says Danziger. “It felt perfect. It's a really good feeling to have this event at my alma mater and just shows that Westphal not only takes care of you as a student, but goes above and beyond to help you even when you've graduated. We will use this opportunity to serve the children of the Penn Town Projects and give them an opportunity for their voices to be heard.”