Film has long been the most accessible art form. The reason being that it was affordable. In years past, a working family couldn’t afford to take the family out to see a play or a ballet. But for a cheap price, you could take yourself and your children to see a movie. But movies have now become more expensive and the product is increasingly out of touch. While a superhero film is definitely a spectacle. They don’t share much in common with everyday people. And it doesn’t allow them to see themselves as heroes in their own story.

Over the next year, I will be directing a short film called Concrete River. Another in a series of shorts about the people who are forgotten. Gabriela was a film about the dreams of an undocumented woman. Forbidden Fruit, about a boy struggling to find food. Concrete River is about someone who lives on the street. A reality that many Americans are closer to than we’d like to admit. We see them and try to look the other way.

Because in them stands a mirror to our potential future.

This film will not be another showcase of pain and struggle. It will instead showcase how people trapped inside of circumstances can find their own agency.

A DIFFICULT SUBJECT

This story was brought to me by a friend of mine, the Cinematographer for the project. He gave me the rough outline of a film about a homeless guy who sells various knick-knacks to make a living. I was intrigued by the story. But there was just one problem:

How do I not make this depressing and pandering?

Depictions of homeless people in film are usually comes down this:

Objects of pity or derision.

They are portrayed as harbingers of their own unfortunate circumstances. And even the best don’t allow the audience to see them as people with their own hopes and dreams.

I began the script as a short film, then had an idea to make it into a feature. Which took a cumulative time of 5 years to write (there were a lot of breaks). I began writing the year before the pandemic and finished a (good) draft this past year. The story in the film is simple:

Travis, an unhoused music producer, is trying to save up enough money to buy his estranged daughter a birthday present: a remixed version of the last song they made together. But then he encounters a teenage drifter who he takes under his wing. They become a family which changes the way he sees the world.

What I’m trying to accomplish with this film, which will start as a proof-of-concept short, is showing Travis as a man where his homelessness is not the story, but the situation that is Travis’s reality. He possesses flaws. But his lack of housing doesn’t define him.

It’s a film about family, resourcefulness, community and music. Travis might live in the street. But he’s a man who has dreams and the agency to realize those dreams as best he can.

A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

I don’t personally know what it’s like to experience homelessness. But there have been times when I’ve been dangerously close. Moving to LA and working in the film industry is not a straight line upwards. There were years where money was tight (and still is). A few times I wasn’t sure how the rent, or any bills, were going to get paid. Which makes you consider if you might soon join the ranks of the unhoused.

There are many homeless in Los Angeles. Media depicts this as everyone living on the street. This is a reality for far too many across the nation. But there are even more who simply don’t have the financial means to live on their own. This comes to a part of Concrete River that is very personal.

My mother has struggled with her mental health and staying afloat financially for nearly half her life. Our family has had to step in to ensure a roof remained over her head – either her own or staying with someone else. While we were going through this with my mother, I realized:

This is how homelessness begins.

The typical talking point around the cause of homelessness is this:

The homeless are people who are severely mentally ill and or are on drugs.

But the truth is the opposite:

They are severely mentally ill or on drugs because they are homeless.

My mother has mental health issues. But she’s been able to function in the right environment. Our family made sure that said environment is maintained and she is able to function on her own.But without the resources of our family. She would have indeed been homeless.

Because that is how the system is designed.

I spent my high school years living in Copenhagen. A country where homelessness is a rarely exercised choice. Because the citizens, decades before, decided that the greater population would be best served if the least among them were provided a roof over their heads. Not because they are a better or nobler people. But because, practically speaking, it made the country less dangerous.

They created a social safety net because they know that poverty does not define a person’s character. It is simply a circumstance. And the extremes of this circumstance are defined by the citizens and their government.

THE PLAN AHEAD

We have a long, but exciting, road ahead for Concrete River. The script is in a great place but far from finished. My philosophy is this:

The script is done when the edit is finished.

Here are the key steps we have in front of us:

-Coalition building and fundraising

-Solidifying our cast and crew

-Scouting and planning

We are in the beginning phases of all these and I’ve begun reaching out to non-profits and brands. With a film like this, my goal is not just to make a great work. But one that other people can use to create impact. By humanizing the unhoused and creating access to greater resources. I am on the hunt for a producer who can assist with all this. The mistake many filmmakers is thinking we have 8 arms. The reality is you only get more arms by working with more people.

Casting is still a work in progress. This will be a SAG film because that is how you get access to the best talent. There are certainly some non-union gems out there. But we are planning on getting some name talent to fill these roles. So making it a SAG production (with all the crazy paperwork) is a must.

It’s a lot of work. But I’m really excited about this project. Which is making me think of…

A CRAZY IDEA

I mentioned at the top of this article the two previous films produced as Blended Future Projects, Gabriela and Forbidden Fruit. The common theme between them being people in unfortunate circumstances creating their own agency and community. It’s also a theme that is heavily present inside of Concrete River. So it got me thinking:

What if I put them all together?

I’m thinking of creating an Anthology Film – a series of shorts that are connected by this common theme. The working title for this is called We Live Here, named after a photography book created by the director of Forbidden Fruit, Isaiah Forte-Rose.

The idea of creating this Anthology is to take the shorts we’ve already made, find some others that go along with the theme, and find ways to connect them. It might be through poetic scenes or maybe simple titles. This is an idea that just sprouted while looking at Isaiah’s book. So we’re still at the beginning stages.

And any ideas are more than welcome.

I don’t know what will come of it. But at the very least, we are making the short proof-of-concept for Concrete River in the spring and taking it from there. Updates will be frequent as they become available.

And as always, I thank you for your support.