City Stories was a year long digital storytelling project that recorded and preserved civically significant stories from historic San Diego neighborhoods such as Sherman Heights, Barrio Logan, and City Heights. The Teen Producers Project ran three 15-week video production, education and training programs for underserved San Diego teens. Working with MACSD Media Artists teens increased their media literacy and acquired the technical skills necessary for digital video production. Each session produced a short 10-15 documentary focused on issues that directly impact the lives of the teens involved. Teens were encouraged to become more inquisitive, active citizens and given an opportunity to share their views about important social issues to a larger community.
The first documentary in this project, I Want My Parents Back, focused on the issue of immigration by highlighting the story of a local San Diego family, the Munoz family. Teens explored the ways the current immigration policy in their community affects the lives of its residents. I Want My Parents Back won the ¡Sorpresa! Youth Film Competition at the 2007 Hampton's International Film Festival. It is also touring the United States and Canada as part of the 2008-2009 Human Rights Watch Traveling Film Festival.
The second documentary, Fighting Community Violence, documented the effects gang violence has on former gang members, emphasizing the consequences of joining a gang as well as providing positive alternatives to participating in gang activity.
The third documentary, Americans, compared and contrasted the experiences of individuals from two specific San Diego communities, East African Refugees and Latinos, in order to examine the opportunities and obstacles these two communities face as they attempt to establish a life for themselves in a new city and country.