Virtual Community Screenings
When Covid first hit, just like everybody else we didn’t quite know what to do. We had just begun to release the a film that took us 11 years to make. And all of a sudden everything changed, and it seemed less important to try to release a film when we could be contributing in other ways. So we concentrated on our tiny nonprofit Visual Anarchy, and trying to help orgs in need that way. But, we REALLY were passionate about getting back to the film at some point, because we knew it could be used as the ultimate teaching tool. To help share the stories of our homeless brothers and sisters and to highlight the systemic causes that created mass homeless.
When we finally came up for air in 6 months into Covid, it became obvious that while our Community Screening Program had been entirely in person, we need to switch it up and go digital. As usual it was our homeless service provider friends who gave us the push and the idea. So now while Covid continues, we now have an avenue again for programming for homeless service providers, schools, etc. to educate both themselves and their audiences. As well as an opportunity for to create action/awareness around the subject.
You won’t find The Invisible Class on Netflix or Amazon or Hulu, or any of those other platforms. That’s purposeful. With the exceptions of educational facilities, we want our screenings to always be attached in some way to the local homeless community in which they take place. We are constantly learning from social justice projects that have come before us, as well as resources from filmmakers like Nora Poggi’s fantastic podcast Creative Distribution. We look forward to partnering with more organizations as well as to continue learning and educating simultaneously.
“In the film, The Invisible Class, we take a look at the core of homelessness. This film was one that should be shown everywhere, talked about everywhere, between everyone. The ones who should really be watching this before us I believe are our mayors, governors, president, police officers, and our federal government.”
“Watching The Invisible Class helped me comprehend the ‘missing’ piece I’ve been looking for in this crazy puzzle called the economy.The homeless are the exact product and proof of the inequalities in our system…”
“After being a case worker for 5+ years at a transitional shelter for the unhoused, I now work in the policy capacity. And I didn’t even know half the history of housing presented here. I feel more empowered to make the case that systemic causes are the issue here, and that there is a clear path to ending homelessness, because we invented it! Shout out to the filmmakers for adding causality to a doc about homelessness that goes just beyond a single persons circumstance.”
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