Afropop: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange

First Friday

On the first Friday of every month, thousands of people gather in the streets of downtown Oakland. Rich and poor, young and old, Black and White, they all meet here. As the event grows, it becomes symbolically attached to the city's larger cultural and economic renaissance. But after a teenager is murdered during the event, the future of First Fridays and the rebirth of Oakland itself is in peril. This film provides a multi-layered snapshot of a fascinating American city while exploring issues of redevelopment, gentrification and violence that many other urban centers face.