CONNECTED | Oct 06, 2026

Beyond the broom: Discovering Salem through short films

Elisabeth Auffant

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When I joined the curatorial team at PEM in late 2023, one of my very first assignments was deceptively simple: watch a series of short films on Vimeo.

PEM’s Chief Curator, Petra Slinkard, was conceptualizing an exhibition for Salem’s 400th anniversary in 2026 and asked me to immerse myself in Salem Sketches, a collection of short documentaries created between 2013 and 2020 for Salem Film Fest. My task was to identify potential Salem-focused films for what would eventually become the exhibition Beyond the Broom: Salem Short Films.

My understanding of Salem at the time was typical of most first-time visitors. Raised on the New Hampshire seacoast, I had only traveled to the city once or twice, and my view of it was entirely constructed around its greatest hits: maritime history, the witch trials and the spectacle of October. Salem Sketches, however, immediately unveiled a completely different side of the city.

One by one, the films introduced me to artists, inventors, teachers, musicians, local restaurants, shopkeepers, natural spaces and lifelong residents whose stories rarely become part of the city’s public narrative. They were funny, quiet, heartfelt and often delightfully quirky. Together, they painted a portrait of a city that felt truly lived in — one that existed alongside Salem’s well-known identity but wasn’t always visible to tourists.

Perry Hallinan and Joe Cultrera during the making of Where Goes the Neighborhood?

“These weren’t dramatic moments. They were ordinary fragments of life — the kind you don’t recognize as memory until they’re already gone.”

Joe Cultrera and crew during the making Where Goes the Neighborhood?

I was completely and utterly charmed. As I watched more than 60 sketches over the course of several days, I realized they had become my introduction to Salem in a way no guidebook or history book ever could have. They felt like being invited behind the curtain to see the city's true face.

That experience became part of the foundation for the exhibition Beyond the Broom: Salem Short Films, which opened at PEM in March as part of PEM's larger slate of experiences highlighting citywide Salem 400+ commemorations.

Beyond the Broom showcases dozens of films from the Salem Sketches archive, originally conceived by documentary filmmakers Joe Cultrera and Perry Hallinan. While each sketch runs only about two or three minutes in length, together they create something much larger: a collective portrait of Salem told through everyday moments and ordinary people.

Historically, feature screenings at the Salem Film Fest commenced with a brief promotional bumper. When a filmmaker slated to produce one of these bumpers had to unexpectedly withdraw from the festival in 2013, Joe and Perry stepped up to fill the void. After initially experimenting with visual montages of Salem, they re-evaluated their approach with a fundamental question: since this was an all-documentary festival, shouldn't the introductory bumpers be documentaries as well?

Working quickly and almost entirely on instinct, they began creating miniature documentaries about the people, places and communities that make Salem what it is. Each sketch was filmed in just a few hours and edited over the course of only a few days. Unlike larger documentary projects that can take years to complete, these films embraced spontaneity.

The designation “sketches” felt incredibly fitting, drawing inspiration from Salem author Nathaniel Hawthorne’s practice of recording everyday thoughts and moments in his notebooks to weave short narratives. Rather than attempting to present an entire story, these films focused on capturing brief snapshots of everyday life.

As Perry reflected, “These weren’t dramatic moments. They were ordinary fragments of life — the kind you don’t recognize as memory until they’re already gone.”

Although the global pandemic brought the original series to a close in 2020, the sketches found a second life online, remaining freely accessible to anyone on Vimeo. Associate Curator Lan Morgan stepped into the lead curator role for the exhibition, with me supporting. Together, we were absolutely thrilled at the chance to commission an entirely new "sketch" for Beyond the Broom. Breathing life into a new film felt like the most meaningful way to demonstrate that Salem’s story is still unfolding

Joe and Perry enthusiastically arrived with ideas for the new film that ranged from an animal psychic and a traveling veterinarian to mushroom foraging, care options for elderly residents and the Salem Public Library. Rather than steering them toward a predetermined topic, Lan and I encouraged them to trust the same creative instincts that had guided the original sketches. We wanted this commission to feel playful, collaborative and true to the spirit of the series, not weighed down by the expectations that can sometimes accompany formal artwork commissions.

Eventually, a central concept came to the forefront: developing a “super sketch,” as Perry called it, by interweaving multiple related narratives into a longer film focused on the Salem neighborhood known as The Point, or El Punto.

To begin their process, the filmmakers reached out to Daiana Rosario, an El Punto resident who also works in PEM's finance department. She introduced them to Yoleny Ynoa, a cultural connector within Salem’s Dominican community, whose networking brought them to Tropicana Market, El Típico restaurant and many of the individuals who would ultimately shape Salem Sketch #71: Where Goes the Neighborhood?

Going beyond a simple snapshot of a single neighborhood, this bilingual documentary explores deep themes of immigration, memory, food, family and belonging. The final film establishes a distinct connection between the current Dominican population and the historical French-Canadian, Polish and Italian communities that previously lived in The Point. By capturing perspectives from both past and present residents on the neighborhood's unique essence, it also examines how the future might be reshaped by the upcoming redevelopment of the Shetland Park industrial site.

Still from Salem Sketches #71: Where Goes the Neighborhood?

As Salem celebrates the 400th anniversary of its settlement, a milestone that typically prompts retrospection, Where Goes the Neighborhood? serves as a poignant reminder that the city's history remains dynamic. This connection lends a profound significance to the commission, portraying Salem as a place perpetually transformed by new arrivals, evolving neighborhoods and generations of diverse communities building their lives here. In many ways, the film feels like a birthday tribute to Salem. It honors its heritage while simultaneously acknowledging the people defining its future.

Collaborating directly with Joe and Perry stood out as an exceptional privilege of this project. Their conversations consistently reflected a sincere curiosity regarding people and places, driven by an infectious enthusiasm for storytelling. Throughout the commissioning process, they remained deeply dedicated to the very core principles that defined the original sketches: prioritizing listening, pursuing unforeseen connections and uncovering the extraordinary within everyday moments.

Joe once described the Sketches as preserving “the bits of the city caught between the cement cracks,” and I have found myself thinking about that phrase often. Museums are places where we preserve culture, history and memory, but those things aren’t just found in rare artifacts and celebrated artwork. They also live in neighborhood markets, family recipes, the work of local musicians, the efforts of community organizers and conversations shared across a dinner table.

Working on Beyond the Broom changed the way I understand Salem. It introduced me to a city far richer, stranger, warmer and more interconnected than I could have imagined when I first arrived at PEM. My hope is that visitors leave the exhibition with that same feeling — that they come to see Salem not only as a place of renowned history, but as a living community filled with stories still being written.

I hope you’ll come and experience Beyond the Broom: Salem Short Films for yourself this fall. You may arrive expecting one version of Salem, but I suspect you’ll leave having discovered another.