Raise the Curtain!

My brilliant friend and past community-mate, Ali Pinschmidt, happens to be a filmmaker. Following up on "The Things We've Learned" about Mozambique and international volunteering, Ali is now working on a film about Haley House--the unusual place we lived and worked.  What you see above is the extended trailer for "Radical Love: the Haley House documentary." Which, you can imagine, I'm edge of my seat excited about. Putting my personal connection aside, it's evident that Ali's talent is finding more and more space to grow. (Note that the video's pixallation is all You Tube's fault). She's one of the most creative and empathetic and honest persons I know--I can't imagine what more you'd want from a filmmaker.

From her own description of the film:

"I am writing, filming, and editing a documentary about Haley House and its personal approaches to addressing societal inequality. Haley House is a 'radical' organization, in that it 'gets to the root of' so many overwhelming social issues. Its programs address poverty and marginalization from a number of different strategies and levels. This documentary film will artistically and personally delve into issues of homelessness, marginalization, and racial and economic inequality. The documentary will also focus on productive ways of engaging these issues, through economic and social empowerment, fostering personal relationships and community, and challenging our own beliefs and oppressive structures in society.

"The creation of the documentary will in itself mirror the community-based ethos of Haley House; it is a participatory project that engages the entire Haley House community, from the directors and staff, to the guests in the soup kitchen, vendors of the street magazine, and trainees at the bakery. The poetry, artwork, and music is all created or performed by people associated with Haley House, and Bostonian street musicians, thereby creating an organic, inclusive, and empowering grass-roots community project.  The documentary will also have strong artistic undercurrents of urban and natural motifs, which evoke the outdoor aspects of being homeless.

"Haley House's story is also important to document because of its connection to the historic Catholic Worker Movement, a non-violent, progressive social justice movement begun in the 1930s that sought to challenge structural inequality on a personal level. Although Haley House is modeled in this tradition, it is uniquely different in that it is a registered non-profit, and does not exclusively identify as a Catholic organization. Haley House espouses an eclectic and open spiritual undercurrent that is inclusive of all beliefs and people."

Far from being a commercial, this stuff is painful and difficult. From the looks of it, those pieces of the Haley House life will be faced head-on in this film.

And, okay, I can't put the personal connection aside. Living and working in Haley House shaped the most transformative years of my life, in the most beautiful and challenging  ways. I  believe in its way of life and here in Detroit, my constant interest has been in alternative ways of building community in a new context. It is essential. Perhaps the place to start is the Dorothy Day House--the Catholic Worker in the city. I think one reason I've been slow to visit it is that, true to the Worker's philosophy, the Day House is a lot different than Haley House. Founded on the same principles, sure, but it's different. I've worried about meeting the folks there with a head full of expectations that are simply not fair. But, if I've learned anything, it's the worth of beginning and of walking through uncertainty.

Find our more about Ali's  work with her self-made Radical Lens Documentary here.