Sponsored by Nancy Blachman and David desJardins
This film is part of Take Action Day: Repairing the World One Film at a Time on July 29th. The daylong film line up embodies the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam - which suggests humanity's shared responsibility to heal, repair and transform the world. This day will screen films in collaboration with local organizations to inspire action on the issues presented in the films.
One-hundred-fifteen steps is all that separates a public housing complex from a private school for Manhattan’s elite. Class Divide shines a light on people who live a stone’s throw apart but inhabit completely different worlds. New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, once a dilapidated industrial area, opened the High Line park in 2009, an effort by community activists to create a public commons and outdoor arts space on a former elevated train line. Its immediate and immense popularity was the catalyst for a gentrification that has far outpaced that of any other neighborhood in Manhattan. In a story of inequity that could easily take place in San Francisco, this film sympathetically follows the students at Avenues: The World School and the residents of the Elliott Houses tenement across the street. Despite grim statistics about poverty, the film is imbued with a sense of optimism as it shares stories of the children and families on both sides of the street. Avenues students grapple with their immense privilege; Elliott Houses residents dream of making money. But one is struck by the love and loss that they have in common. You will find yourself rooting for all of them, particularly Rosa, a sassy and honest fifth grader whom you will remember long after the film ends.
—Stephanie Rapp
Producer Mike Farrah in person