When Ruth Tedla speaks about her film Cracked Shells, it’s impossible not to feel the urgency and passion behind the story she’s telling. A filmmaker and photographer born in Ethiopia, raised in Botswana, and now shaping narratives across the United States, Ruth combines her immigrant experience with an acute understanding of cultural memory, identity, and resilience.
“The idea for Cracked Shells really began when I moved to the United States,” Ruth explains. “Having lived in different places throughout my life, I’ve always been fascinated by the power of space and the idea of ‘home’—how a place can shape the people who inhabit it.” Her journey led her to Washington DC, a city that immediately felt like home. But that sense of belonging was quickly overshadowed by the harsh realities of gentrification.
“Within just four years of being there for college, I saw the city rapidly change,” she recalls. “In my senior year, I moved off campus into a neighborhood that had historically been predominantly Black, but had transformed significantly. The contrast between what once was and what it was becoming was stark.”
This experience inspired Ruth to create a photography project, which later evolved into the powerful, full-length film Cracked Shells.
At the heart of the film is DC’s identity as “Chocolate City”—a moniker that reflects the city’s historic role as a hub of Black culture, art, and innovation. “DC’s identity as ‘Chocolate City’ is essential to understanding gentrification because it reflects the city’s history as a hub of Black culture, joy, art, and innovation,” Ruth notes. “But that legacy is now under threat… the erasure of ‘Chocolate City’ is not just a local issue—it’s a cultural and political one.”
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