Finding North, a documentary about hunger in America, debuted the evening of Sunday, January 22, 2012 at the annual Sundance Film Festival. The film examines the issue of hunger through the lens of three people struggling with food insecurity, including Barbie Izquierdo and her family, who are participants in the Witnesses to Hunger research project at the Drexel University School of Public Health. Finding North also includes insights on hunger from Dr. Mariana Chilton, an associate professor and director of the Center for Hunger-Free Communities at the Drexel University School of Public Health. >> Watch Trailer
According to the film’s producers, Participant Media, 49 million people in the United States do not where they are going to get their next meal. Yet, our nation has the means to provide nutritious and affordable food for all Americans. Finding North “shows us how hunger poses serious economic, social and cultural implications for our nation, and that it could be solved once and for all, if the American public decides – as they have in the past – that making healthy food available and affordable is in the best interest of us all.” >> Read Complete Documentary Description from Participant Media
The film festival’s film guide on Finding North says: “America has lost its way in taking care of its own. The shocking fact is that one in six Americans doesn’t get enough to eat on a regular basis. Even more disturbing is the fact that this new face of hunger is largely invisible. There are no breadlines in the streets, but increasing numbers of soup kitchens and food banks are feeding people who—though employed full-time—can’t make ends meet. Finding North unveils the human stories behind the statistics.” >> Read Complete Sundance Film Festival Description
Dr. Chilton and Barbie will be providing routine updates from their experience at the film festival. You can follow them on twitter at @HungerFreeCtr, #FindingNorth and at http://www.facebook.com/HungerFreeCtr. They will also be blogging at www.centerforhungerfreecommunities.org/blog.
After the debut at the Sundance Film Festival, the film is slated to be shown at theaters nationwide in the spring, including a special screening in Philadelphia. The showing schedule to be announced shortly.
Finding North shines an international spotlight on the issues that are being addressed by Dr. Chilton, an internationally-renowned expert on food insecurity and poverty, and Drexel’s Center for Hunger-Free Communities, which encompasses Witnesses to Hunger, Children’s HealthWatch, The GROW Clinic and outreach services. The mission of the Center for Hunger-Free Communities is to works with partners from public and private organizations, universities and the community to:
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Find science-based solutions to hunger and economic insecurity;
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Report on and monitor the health consequences of poverty and hunger;
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Engage those who have experienced poverty as full partners in developing research and policies that work;
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Establish and support opportunities for an on-going national dialogue on poverty.
Following on the heels of the documentary the Center for Hunger-Free Communities is also hosting its first annual national conference on hunger and poverty, “Beyond Hunger: Real People, Real Solutions,” in Philadelphia from May 2 – 4, 2012. The conference will feature participants in Witnesses to Hunger, and is designed to help advance the national dialogue and spur action to address hunger and poverty in America. Finding North will be shown during the conference.
The film was produced by Julie Goldman, Ryan Harrington, Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush. It’s Executive Producers included Diane Weyermann, Jeff Skoll and Tom Colicchio, as well as Philadelphia’s own Christina Weiss Lurie and Jeffrey Lurie. The cinematographers were Daniel B. Gold and Kirsten Johnson. It was edited by Madeleine Gavin, Jean Tsien and Andrea B. Scott. The music was provided by T Bone Burnett and the Civil Wars.
You can donate online and help support the Center for Hunger-Free Communities.
For more information contact:
Drexel University
Rachel Ewing, News Officer, Drexel University Office of University Communications
215-895-2614, 215-298-4600 (cell), raewing@drexel.edu
Rich Ochab, Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Drexel School of Public Health
215-762-4732, rso25@drexel.edu
Participant Media
Amanda Garrison
310-550-5100, info@participantmedia.com
Sundance Film Festival Image Photo Credit: Jonathan Hickerson