A new documentary film by associate professor Jennifer Maytorena Taylor will be featured in the 19th San Francisco Documentary Festival. Taylor is director of UCSC's Social Documentation MFA Program in the department of Film and Digital Media.
About the film:
Rutland, Vermont, representative of many small cities across the country, struggles with high rates of unemployment, an opioid crisis, and a reluctance to change. When the mayor accepts Syrian refugees into the city as part of an economic diversification project, he faces backlash from city residents concerned that the lack of existing opportunities and resources for residents will only be further diminished. As a resident of this economically disadvantaged city, Stacie recognizes the root of the animosity, but having lived on the margins of society all her life, she also sympathizes with the struggles of the recently arrived refugees. Stacie, a mother, wife, and recovering addict, who barely makes ends meet collecting cans to supplement unemployment benefits finds herself an unlikely hero in a city split along divided lines. For the Love of Rutland is a portrait of a politically divided and economically devastated town, a portrait seen repeated all across America, and the glimmer of hope that can help rebuild a community.
(90 minutes)
$10 (After the content becomes available, ticket buyers will have 7 days to start watching. Once the film starts, viewers will have 24 hours to finish watching.)
Read the recent story about Taylor's film on UCSC's news page.