Death on the Streets

His wife Sarah still believes in the American Dream, but for unemployed Kurt the sun-kissed rural Bible Belt is tinged with grey. The fact the whole town knows about their precarious situation doesn’t help his sense of self-worth much. All that well-meaning pity pushes Kurt over the edge. He flees, seeking a means to support his family.

How does someone become homeless? Johan Carlsen (director and script) and Micah Magee (script and production), who met at film school in Berlin, were inspired by the stories of homeless people in Atlantic City. The filmmakers capture Kurt’s existential journey through America’s underbelly in a series of small, personal scenes and majestic landscapes, resulting in a film with a European perspective. It provides rare insight into the world of the blue-collar unemployed who are all too often viewed as white trash.

Interview

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