Donghwan Kim revised Proposal

Donghwan Kim Revised Proposal

The Hand Up

Story: Last semester, I found out something interesting. There was an old homeless man pitching a newspaper to the people on the street for a dollar donation. I asked him what he was doing, and he said that he employed himself for the distribution of the newspaper for the street people, The Austin Advocate. I was getting curious, and asked him how it works. He explained to me that The Austin Advocate would sell the newspapers to the homeless people for a quarter per a copy. Then, the homeless person walks out, and gets a dollar donation from people as he/she gives out a copy of the newspaper. All the money gathered through this activity belongs to the homeless person. “In this way,” the old man told me, “I can be my own boss.” As I heard him saying this, I felt like he had something important in his life. He seemed passionate in explaining me the righteous cause that he was asking money for. He was confident, and I felt a lot better giving him the dollar bill, compared to when I was giving a homeless person the dollar bill without any cause. I donated a dollar for the newspaper, and took my time to read it. The quality of the paper was neat, and the writings were very intelligent.

However, the semester was over before I came to know this strange newspaper organization The Austin Advocate. I remember a homeless person telling me that ‘what homeless people really need is not a hand out, but a hand up.’ I do not fully understand the meaning of this metaphor, but I think what The Austin Advocate is giving to the homeless people is that ‘hand up,’ rather than temporary ‘hand out.’ I really want to know better about this place and people there.

The Project: The Hand Up will be around 10 minutes and it is about the Homeless newspaper Austin Advocate. As I came to know about the newspaper after attending the monthly board meeting for the first time, it turned out that the newspaper organization is suffering the seasonal downfall. Because of the cold weather of the first of March, there was no homeless person who actually sells the paper at the street attending the meeting. I learned that the newspaper now has about 10 vendors, and last month, the organization earned about six dollars from distributing the newspaper to the homeless people. Nevertheless, the board members were passionate and serious about keeping the newspaper running. I exchanged emails and phone numbers with them, and got the permission to interview the board members. There was a board member who is currently homeless, who goes by the street name Zebra, and a member who was a former homeless, Cliff Taylor. Especially, the Chairwoman of the organization, Valerie Romness, is really interesting to know. She was a hairstylist, and she used to volunteer in cutting the hair of homeless people. I will interview her this weekend, and ask about the concrete hardship in keeping the newspaper running, as well as the purpose of the organization. Also, I learned about the location and name of the most successful homeless person who sells the newspaper on the street. His street name is Edge, who is 60 years old and sells the newspaper in front of the restaurant Hickory Bar & Grill, on the 9^th Congress Av. Although there is no certain time when he comes out to the street, I will put some effort to contact him. Every board member seems to know him, so I will try to get as much information as possible from them. After getting the permission, I will ask Edge about how does it feel different compared to the days before selling newspaper, and how is life changing because of it.

I want this documentary to be watched by many UT students, who happen to come across the homeless people very often, and have to deal with the dilemma of either giving them the money or ignoring them. It will be a good chance to think about what the homeless people really need in order to better their lives.

The Style: I want the mood of this documentary to be bright and not slow. Music is going to play an important in my documentary. I have a friend who is taking a music making class at UT, and he told me that he will provide me with the music that he makes. If I have the chance, I also want to ask the street musicians for the music, and use it as the sound track. I will try to use natural lightings, when I am shooting outside. I want the documentary to be ‘on the street,’ for a major part of the film. Interviews with the board members should be set to let the audience get the feeling of what the work space is like, and feel their passion. Also, the ‘voice’ of the homeless, which is expressed through the newspaper by the articles and poems written by them, is something I would like to emphasize. I can ask the homeless people to read the poems and record it, to express that their voice is being heard through those writings.