Though this blog focuses on the effects of poverty in Chicago and the hardships of people who have been forced into homelessness because of poverty, in truth the problem of poverty and homelessness is far greater in other parts of the world. The poor in the poorest parts of the world have far fewer opportunities than the poor in Chicago.
A new documentary called The End of Poverty? looks at the policies of the U.S. government and U.S. business that have led to crushing poverty in places like sub-saharan Africa. The movie is narrated by Martin Sheen and is directed by Philippe Diaz, who has experience with making films about U.S. politics (Uncovered: The War in Iraq) and Africa (The Empire in Africa).
Watch the trailer below.
You can see more videos from the movie on their YouTube Channel. The film will be showing in NYC on November 13 and in LA on November 25.
The economic downturn has spawned a number of films examining poverty in America. This week the trailers for two upcoming films on the same subject were released.
Life is Hot in Cracktown is a film about the many ways that crack-cocaine has harmed whole neighborhoods. The movie tells the story of a prostitute, a rookie cop and a drug dealer among many narratives. Each is based off a short story from director/writer Buddy Giovinazzo’s 1993 book of the same name.
You can also see an interview with director and writer Buddy Giovinazzo where he introduces the film. The video is grainy and the sound is pretty bad, but if you want to know more about the motivation for the film, you can watch him pace around what looks like a kitchen and talk about his movie.
The other movie, Children of Invention, is the story of a family who loses their home to foreclosure and is forced to squat in an unfinished apartment as the parents search desperately for any kind of job. After their mother doesn’t return home from work one night, the children are forced to fend for themselves.
The Chicago Homeless Blog is a place for the news and trends of the homeless community in Chicago and the organizations working to end homelessness in Chicago.
The blog will feature the success and failures of individuals experiencing homelessness, individuals and organizations working on behalf of the homeless and trends in national homelessness initiatives and how they affect Chicago.
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