Street roots
7
March 14, 2014
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W
ú J b D
or the
Above and below, stills from
“The Case o f Conrad Cooper,” a
new silent short film that
examines the idiosyncracies o f
homelessness in America
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A compilation of facts, targe and
small, about our community ¿fig?
♦ Number of breweries in Portland; 53
Number of barrels of beer Oregon
breweries brewed in 2012; 1.3 million
, ''t
1
• Number of signatures on the online
petition asking the U.S. government to
deport Justin Bieber; 261,412
p ♦ Percentage of children from the ages
of 2-5 in 2009 and 2010 considered
overweight; 26
♦ Percent of U.S. teenagers who
reported experiencing “extreme stress”
during the school year; 27
* Average student debt among the 60
Film illuminates middle-class homelessness
“The Case o f Conrad Cooper”, a short-film set in L.A, focuses on the growing
num ber o f people who have lost their homes and now live out o f their car
percent of college students graduated
in 2012 with student Joans: $26,500
BY BIRGIT RUMPEL
C O N T R IB U T IN G W RITER
♦ Percentage of Americans who owned
their own house in 2012:63.9
• Percentage of Americans age 5 and
older who spoke a language other than
English at home in 2012:21
* Percentage of American Indians and
Alaska Natives living in poverty in 2012:
• Percentage of the population living in
poverty in 2012; 15.9
• Number of female veterans In the
U.S. in 2012:1.6 million
• Percentage of Oregon’s MilenoBj ’ §
generation population (people aged
16’30) who volunteer; 27.9 » . V - - -
• Percentage of U.S. energy that
■
comes from renewable sources; 13 > a
* Oregon high school graduation rate in
2010:76.3
Percentage of American households
who lacked access to enough food for
an active, healthy life for all household
members in 2012:14.5
/ .
Water Footprint Network; Oregon
Brewer's Guild; whitehouse.gov;
American University; College Board;
Census Bureau; Corporation for
National and Community Service;
International Energy Agency; Institute
of Education Sciences; United States
Department of Agriculture Economic
¡Research Service
• * •
s it possible to imagine a “beautiful” film
about homelessness? When it comes' to
films about this particular topic» we are
only really familiar with reports or
documentaries, perhaps with blurred faces,
even filmed with a hidden camera. The
imagery in them shows the superficial
aspects of a reality, as nobody wants to see
them.
cfimiheróf turn the television off; therpubhc
is desensitized to it rather than moved by it.
An extraordinary film project, which is I
being presented at international festivals,
this month, shows that it doesn’t have to be
like that: it’s called “The Case of Conrad .
. Cooper.”
One sunny morning in a Ü.S. suburb: a
typical newspaper boy on his bicycle, an
elderly lady in her dressing gown enjoying a
coffee on the veranda. We see a close-up of
somebody getting ready for the day; he -
scrapes off shaving foam, adjusts his tie,
pockets some change and then finally
glances at a solid gold pocket watch.
Occasionally the camera pans oyer to a
traditional family photograph. He carefully
prepares a clarinet for playing. Only in the
final, scrutinizing look in the shaving m irror1
do we see his face, before he goes put onto
the streetw ith his hat, coat and smart
briefcase. This is Conrad Cooper.
Ip my mental cinema screen, he’s an
office worker on his way to work. But why
the clarinet? Does he actually take it with-
him? He ambles through the streets, pauses
briefly on a park bench, later sits down in a
sidewalk café, and continues to wander
through the streets once more. Something
is strange. Silent encounters with passers-
by, exchanged glances. Why is he wandering
through the town so aimlessly when he’s got
to go to work. Hasn’t he? Slowly I realize -
he doesn’t; have a job at allanymore. He just
acts as though he does to keep up
appearances. Perhaps he’s keeping it secret
from his family.
Spoiler: The answer only comes at the •
end of the 15-minute short film. Conrad
Cooper, whose daily routine we come to
know in the film, is one of a growing
number of homeless people who live in a
car or trailer. This phenomenon caught the
attention of the German producer of the
!
film, Mike Fuhrmann, when he was staying
in Los Angeles in 2012 and he hasn’t let go
of it since. During a workshop for
screenwriters he spoke about the topic with
colleagues, and from this the idea emerged
to make the invisible homeless visible. ,
Fuhrmann knew that, in addition to. thè
clearly visible homeless people in the vast
city on the Pacific, there were also a
^significant number of homeless people who
- w ouldnX he^recognized on the street. People.
' who can no longer afford upkeep on their
house or apartment don’t live on the street
at first, but instead live in their car. Many of
them are n ot’even unemployed; rather, they
• go to work every day, always trying to avoid
their situation being revealed.-“Illese are
the effects of the financial and housing
crisis in the United States,which long ago
started effecting the middle classes,” says
Fuhrmann. “Almost everybody I had
anything to do with in the U.S. either knew
people in this situatiorf or had gone through
such a time themselves at some point. Thi$
raises the question of where the middle
class goes once it has disappeared.”
Fuhrmann and his fellow campaigners
have devoted themselves fully to this issue,
and. have spoken to those affected and
consulted initiatives that support hoitneless
people. Through intensive networking, a
¿core team of filmmakers became a
complete,.international filfn crew.
Everybody involved works for the project on -
a volunteer basis, motivated by the
enthusiasm. Nevertheless, production costs
were incurred, of course, and the originally
planned budget of $10,000 did not last long.
“But we didn’t want to move away from our
concept of making an artistically ambitious
film that didn’t look low-budget,” explained
Fuhrmann. This is clear from the perfect
color coordination of sets, costumes and
scenery, as well as the large number of
carefully chosen details that you wouldn’t
normally expect in a short film. So far, 80%
of the $35,000 required in the end has been
raised through private investors and
fundraising via the internet.
The film was shot in October 2013 in
Long Beach, Calif,, and the post-editing, the
final cut and thè music are being finished off
at the moment. It is a silent movie, in which
glances, facial expressions and gestures
replace dialogue, and the soundtrack
ndor? Let us know. We like to hear a
and we'll pass along the good won
heightens emotions. “That is part of our
idea. It means that the story works all over
thè world; after all, it is a global problem,”
says Fuhrmann, with conviction.
The film created a stir even during
shooting. Two radio stations reported on it,
which led to affected people frequently
coming to the set to tell their stories. “That
was very striking, particularly the story of a
woman whose; husband was murdered,
whereupon she, pregnant, and with two
small children, had to move out of the
house. For weeks she lived with her
children in the car and by night she would
write about her desperation, from her soul
and eventually she found a publisher for her
story. With the procèeds she founded an
initiative to support homeless women in Los
Angeles,” recounts Fuhrmann, still very
movéd.
In addition to the film, ideas emerged for
other artistic projects to be carried out
under the newly founded Make Art Make A
Difference label, such as photo exhibitions'
street art projects or a graphic novel. “My
dream would be a road show through
Europe with live music and campaigning,”
muses Fuhrmann.
Translatedby Laura Jones. Street News
Service
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