For countless middle-class families who have experienced job loss or an unexpected financial setback, the American dream has become an American nightmare. Working families, seemingly on a path toward economic security, have discovered how
quickly they can slip from the middle class into poverty, according to a press release.
Emmy-winning filmmakers Joe and Harry Gantz (HBO’s “Taxicab Confessions,” “The Defenders”) feature struggling families who called into the 211 social services hotline in search of help during the winter of 2012 in the powerful film “American Winter“which debuted on HBO in March 2013. The film presents an intimate snapshot of the state of the nation’s economy as it is playing out in the lives of many American families, and reveals the human consequences of rising economic insecurity, budget cuts to the social safety net, and the fracturing of the American dream.
Co- Sponsored by the Center for Justice, Community Building Foundation, Health Care for All – Spokane, Peace and Justice Action League, Spokane Alliance, Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane, and the Washington Community Action Network, a special screening of “American Winter” will be held at the Bing Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave. on Oct. 14 from 6:30-8:30 pm.
The screening is free and open to the public, with a suggested donation of $10 at the door.
Proceeds will benefit Operation Healthy Family, a Spokane non-profit that offers support and services that help strengthen the family unit through collaboration and partnerships with other like-minded non-profit organizations and local businesses. After the screening there will be a discussion of actions that can address some of the issues raised by the film.
