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Event
Hard Times: Lost on Long Island
A powerful look at the human costs of the recession on ordinary Long Islanders
Winner Best Documentary 2011 Hamptons International Film Festival
Co-Presented by League of Women Voters of Huntington, Huntington Township Housing Coalition, & Long Island Jobs with Justice
Sponsored by Stuart & Ginger Polisner
An HBO Documentary
Special Guests:
MARC LEVIN, Director, Hard Times: Lost on Long Island
ELE RUTH MELENDEZ, Director, St. Francis de Chantal Parish Outreach Center in Wantagh
NICHOLAS and REGINA PUCCIO who are featured in the film
CHARLENE OBERNAUER, Executive Director, LI Jobs with Justice
SUSAN LAGVILLE, Executive Director, Housing Help
Are we in the midst of a recession? A mild depression? These abstract terms fill the media but Marc Levin's new film reminds us of the human toll. Levin follows several women and men who lost their jobs, their homes and families threatened, as they search for employment. More immediately, these are our Long Island neighbors who suffer and struggle. Their stories are both heart-breaking and uplifting. We watch them meet at Long Island diners to network, enter their homes which brink on foreclosure, join them on job interviews, experience the emotional loss. In white print on black background, Levin tells the economic story: "there are 5 million bankruptcies," "6 million homes are in foreclosure." In response, calls to suicide hotlines have increased 3 times. Most importantly, Levin allows the women and men to speak for themselves. In the spirit of Studs Terkel's classic oral history of the Great Depression, also titled Hard Times, let us hear the voices: "We did all we were supposed to do." "The middle class are not in the middle any more." "Having cancer is easier than being unemployed." "How do we get up every morning and face the abyss." "The American Dream is gone." In the last decade, suburbia is the fastest growing area of poverty in America. -Marty Haas (USA, 2011, 53 min., Blu-ray)
"The message is clear: The recession isn't hitting only the poor but the average, even well-off, American." -Rafer Guzman, NEWSDAY
Partially funded by the Suffolk County Executive's Office
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LocationCinema Arts Centre (View)
423 Park Avenue
Huntington, NY 11743
United States
Categories
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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