What Does Detroit Want For Christmas?

Dec. 23, 2011 - PRLog -- The Detroit Journal (http://thedetroitjournal.com), whose name is an homage to Detroit's original newspaper, is a new web series focused on using short films to tell true stories about real people in Detroit. On Saturday December 17th, 2011  The Detroit Journal hit the streets to ask the people of Detroit just one question. A simple question, really. If you could have anything in the world, without limitation what so ever. What do you want for Christmas? The results created an engaging 7 minute long, high quality short film. The film maker approached a variety of individuals and caught them pondering over the question thoughtfully and landing on answers that vary from a teenagers instantaneous response of "A million dollars!" to a young woman's simple desire to see her mother.  The film is scored by the holiday single "Where is Christmas" (available for download on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/where-is-christmas/id489715724?i=489715727) by local Detroit musician Brian Miller, whose song adds a degree of touching melancholy or joy depending on who is answering the question.

The Detroit Journal first released a trailer for "What Do You Want For Christmas, Detroit?" on December 18th, two days before the release of the feature. The trailer only showed the people pondering but provided no answers to the question. This trailer generated a good deal of excitement for the release and The Detroit Journal added to the anticipation by placing a countdown to 8PM, December 20th on their website.

Upon the release of the feature, the website garnished a huge spike in traffic, going from an average of 12 hits per day to 400 in 2 hours. Since then the traffic has only increased due to the viral nature of the video, having been shared over 65 times in just 3 days. The film maker, believes "What Do You Want For Christmas, Detroit?" is getting such a gracious reception because "In times like these, it's very hopeful to see Detroit collectively smile and seriously ponder such a question when approached by a stranger. The film truly demonstrates the spirit of Detroit and can be a valuable resource in promoting the positive attitudes and resiliency in a city like this."

The two individuals behind The Detroit Journal do not want to make this website about them but rather want the stories to speak for themselves. While not overtly trying to remain anonymous, they are not including their names on the website. The film is a terrific homage to the city of Detroit and it's growing popularity is a testament to Detroit's desire to get to know itself and it's inhabitants. Shot on location at various Detroit landmarks (Eastern Market, Wayne State, etc.) with a light snow falling, "What Do You Want For Christmas, Detroit?" is a holiday film that is pure Detroit. Please review the trailer below and watch the feature on the website (http://thedetroitjournal.com/what-do-you-want-for-christm...), where, in addition to watching the film The Detroit Journal is also asking viewers to answer the question themselves in the comments below the video.

The Detroit Journal will be releasing one short film a month, with their first story feature "William Foster is a Good Man" (watch the trailer: http://thedetroitjournal.com/episode-1-william-foster-is-...) set to be released in mid-January. "What Do You Want For Christmas, Detroit?" is not an official "episode" of the Detroit Journal but it definitely sets the tone for the series and has gotten people very excited about what's to come next.

What Do You Want For Christmas, Detroit? | Trailer:
http://youtu.be/2hMoDGVOynA



# # #

A monthly short film series and online content source featuring true stories about real people in Detroit