“Building Hope”

Online Panel Discussion 
Thursday, May 2, 2024 at 6:30 PM

A new documentary film, “BUILDING HOPE,” brings a compelling message to audiences around Maine and beyond: there is hope for ending the suffering of homelessness.

The film portrays complex and painful stories from rural and urban Maine–stories about the lack of affordable housing, substance use disorder, anxiety and depression, despair, lack of self-esteem, domestic abuse, trauma, poverty, encampments, prison time, lost loved ones, brutal weather. Stories of asylum seekers and immigrants escaping violence, cartels, ruthless dictators, and crushing poverty arriving in Maine yearning to be free and hoping for a better life but forced to face the grim prospect of homelessness once they are here. How can all this happen in “the richest country in the world?”

“BUILDING HOPE” tells these stories with compassionate honesty, acknowledging how hard it is to imagine there could be hope amid so much trauma and against seemingly insurmountable odds. But there is hope, the film boldly asserts. As the title suggests, the film introduces us to individuals who find the courage to build hope and make a difference.  Their examples inspire viewers to believe that we can all make a difference. We can all build hope.

MCC invites you to watch a 90 minute preview of this moving Maine-made film by Emmy-nominated director Richard Kane using an online viewing portal available April 29 through May 2. 

Then join us for a panel discussion with Richard Kane and some of the people portrayed in his film, 6:30pm on Thursday, May 2, via Zoom. 

MEET RICHARD

Richard is an independent director whose work is focused on the intersection of art and contemporary American life. Previous film releases include, J. Fred Woell: An American Vision, I Know a Man … Ashley Bryan, Imber’s Left Hand, and 15 others, all part of the Maine Masters collection, a New England Emmy-nominated series of portraits that airs on public television. With partner Melody Lewis-Kane, their company, Kane-Lewis Productions, has worked for National Geographic, The Discovery Channel, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the White House Office of Technology Policy among many others. Kane-Lewis produced the Natural Resources Council of Maine’s 50th anniversary film Protecting the Nature of Maine, an indie doc ROCK SOLID: The Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium and the classic award-winning documentary M.C. Richards: The Fire Within.  From 2007-2016 Richard served as chair of the Maine Film & Video Association.