There seems to be an invisible force which grasps the soul of anyone who passes through San Francisco. Something irresistible that can make even the most distant of travelers feel at home. My parents moved from France in 1997 for what was supposed to be a short 3 year stint. As the years went on, so did their residency. Fast forward to today, they have both obtained their American citizenship and have lived in the Bay for over 25 years. I find myself stuck under the same spell as the longer I live here, the harder I realize it will be for me to leave.

That said, all we seem to hear nowadays are horror stories of San Francisco; a city riddled with homelessness and crime which some paint as the modern day Detroit. First of all, that is an egregious comparison to make (no offense to anyone from Detroit), but secondly these claims are most often made by people who have either never lived in SF or have not lived here long enough to fully understand the city. In the film The Last Black Man in San Francisco, there’s a Muni scene where the protagonist tells two ladies he overhears complaining about the city’s filth: “You don’t get to hate San Francisco. You don’t get to hate it unless you love it”.

My goal is to document San Francisco as I see it: honestly, truthfully, but most importantly in its entirety. From the moments of happiness I come across, to the moments of misery I capture, I want to show the wide reality that is San Francisco. A city that has gone through a lot of changes and tough times but nonetheless is still very much alive; living, breathing, a phoenix rising from its own ashes.