Riding with Aunt DDOT

Aunt Dot began as a long-term documentary photography project by artist bree gant, witnessing social politics around mental health on public transit in Detroit. In 2016, bree was awarded a Detroit Narrative Agency Fellowship to develop a moving image project, along with collaborators Hanniyah Cross and Stephanie Blair. Riding with Aunt D. Dot premiered in 2018, written and produced by Paige Wood, and edited by Katy Dresner. The story unfolds through personal narrative and radical imagination on the midtown bus loop as it gets stuck in the city’s historic North End neighborhood. Quinn (played by director bree gant) tries to figure out which of the voices in their head is actually theirs during the journey to an award ceremony downtown.

The short film has screened at festivals, conferences, and universities across the US and Canada including Allied Media Conference, BlackStar Film Festival, Idlewild International Film Festival, Afrofuture Youth Film Festival, Princeton University, Breakthroughs Film Festival, Facing Race Conference, and more.

This work is created with the generous guidance and support of the Transit Justice Team at Detroit People’s Platform. Many thanks to all the mentors, co-conspirators, and especially the essential riders of the city bus.