Faces of Poverty
Official Selection of Artivist & Calgary Fringe Film Festivals
Now on Starfish TV!
It is disappointing that this powerful film has not received the
attention that it deserves. If it were widely viewed, for example on Front Line or some other public television program,
it would raise the country's awareness of domestic poverty and inequality, and viewers would come away with a greater sense
of urgency to combat these problems.
-Prof. William Julius Wilson of Harvard U.
Announcing Faces of Poverty. Recognizing film as an effective medium for change, The Elfenworks Foundation is proud to have worked in collaboration with the San Damiano Foundation to bring you the human face of poverty, telling stories taken from the millions of poor around us – those we perhaps hear about but may never see – in hopes of inspiring viewers to act.
An official selection of the Artivist and
Calgary Fringe Film Festivals, Faces of Poverty has been screened in Calgary,
Los Angeles, and Washington DC (2/19/08 - Artivist [program]).Faces of Poverty received its Los Angeles premiere screening at
9:15 PM on Friday, November 9 in the Spielberg Theatre at the Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, in
Los Angeles California, as part of the Artivist Film Festival. The film was given its international screen debut in the
Calgary Fringe Film Festival
session "Those that Have and Those that Have Not" at 4:30 on Thursday August 16th 2007
[full schedule].
Look for it on Starfish TV!
Faces of Poverty includes some of our favorite (unforgettable!) footage from three of the San Damiano Foundation's powerful films on domestic poverty, along with startling statistics and memorable quotations about poverty compiled by The Elfenworks Foundation. Director Gerard Straub and editor Chad Mochrie have created a singular experience we hope will be a catalyst for change in those who take the forty four minutes to watch it: once a problem has been seen, it cannot be unseen.
Washington Awareness-Raising Efforts
We are heartened by the early response from our representatives in Washington whom we have
contacted about this film. We hope that it will prove a useful tool to them in any anti-poverty
agenda they might be working to produce, look forward to hearing about their plans,
and stand ready to assist. As of September 2008, eighty nine members of the House and Senate
have answered our query and received copies of our film. Read more feedback we received about this film here.
Film Summary - Faces of Poverty
"We talk about the 'poor' but we hardly ever meet any poor people.
In The Faces of Poverty you will meet actual poor people, learn their names, hear their tragic stories, see their sorrowful faces.
You will see innocent children without homes, a neglected grandmother living in a mission, a young mother who lives in her car with her children, a homeless man living in an abandoned building and a homeless veteran with no legs. Also, in this jam-packed 45 minutes, you will meet unemployed auto workers, recovering addicts, homeless women, and others who are unjustly imprisoned by chronic poverty, living in isolated pockets of despair and want. Featuring scenes from three feature-length documentaries on domestic poverty in Philadelphia, Detroit and Los Angeles, as well as new, never-before-seen material, The Faces of Poverty weaves a number of heartbreaking stories into a compelling portrait of poverty in America, where so many live in suffocating squalor in the shadow of astounding affluence. The Faces of Poverty hopes to inspire viewers to work to end the
injustice of poverty--because everyone can do something."
- Produced, Written & Directed by Gerard Thomas Straub
- Co-Produced & Edited by Chad O. Mochrie
- Consulting Producer: Lauren Speeth
- Produced by The San Damiano Foundation in Association with The Elfenworks Foundation
- © 2007 and Distributed by The San Damiano Foundation P.O. Box 1794 - Burbank, CA 91507... Note: The San Damiano Foundation puts the power of film at the service of the poor, relying entirely on donations - forthcoming efforts include Father Young's 'glidepath to recovery' and a film on Uganda.
- Running time: 44 minutes
- Please contact our to arrange a screening or an interview.
About the Artivist Film Festival
Since its inception in 2004, the Artivist Film Festival has showcased 223 films representing more than 45 countries. Artivist has reached millions of people with its public relations campaign and has received endorsements from various community leaders including Senator Barbara Boxer, Congressman and Presidential Nominee Dennis Kucinich, and the UNITED NATIONS.
About the Calgary Fringe Film Festival
The Calgary Fringe Festival runs August 11th - 20th, 2006, in the heart of Calgary's cultural corridor - 17th Avenue, and at the EPCOR Centre for Performing Arts. This non-juried, uncensored artistic event will feature raw and innovative local, national, and international theatrical productions alongside street performers, international film presentations, food and arts & crafts vendors, visual art displays, music, outdoor stage events - and MORE!
As they have done for over fifty years, Fringe Festivals around the world continue to
generate atmospheres of spontaneity, collaboration, and risk-taking. The creators of the
festival are excited to bring this ongoing artistic legacy to Calgary and invite
festival-goers from around the world to experience Alberta's tremendous artistic community in action.
