How these filmmakers hope to sustain the good will of two aging change agents in North Philly

Lifelong North Philly residents Fred Harris and Q Tate grew up visiting the Penny Candy Store, a discount candy shop in the home of proprietors Nandi and Khalid Muhammed. It was a safe space where community kids could go after school to learn everything from Black history to self-respect.

When Mike Kuetemeyer and Anula Shetty, filmmakers from North Philly artist residence SPACES, teamed up with Harris and Tate for a documentary about local changemakers called “Places of Power,” they learned the Penny Candy Store still exists.

But the Muhammeds are aging, and they’re having trouble keeping their block clean.

On March 5, the documentary team is hosting a Penny Candy Reunion at the Village of Arts and Humanities, where two decades-worth of former customers will honor the couple and the non-institutional safe haven they’ve created.

Ultimately, the goal is to sustain the shop’s work. Immediately, the team is looking to gather a team of volunteers that will help tidy up the block and attract new customers.

The team will also debut a glimpse of “Places of Power,” which will feature other changes agents in addition to the Muhammeds. Once the documentary is finished, it will be hosted online as a web app.

“It’s our role to tell the story of North Philly. North Philly is not a bad place,” Tate said. “It’s not the place, it’s the people. And there are a lot of good people here.”