Filmmaker Statement

DJ Nyce, the main character and co-director of this film, and I are neighbors. He lives on the streets as so many of my neighbors do in my Oakland, California neighborhood. I wanted to expose a deeply taboo subject in American life: homelessness in one of the richest places on earth. The film exposes an increasingly rigid class system characterized by the cruel treatment of society’s most vulnerable citizens. Today’s unhoused community is the most recent casualty in this age-old class war. This collaborative film was born out of our conversations in which he told me that he wanted to tell his stories through art. I handed him a cellphone, gave him basic film training and DJ started documenting his life. To me, the cellphone is an effective weapon against persistent disinformation as its verité footage dispels demeaning stereotypes. I want audiences to connect directly with the film’s subject as a human being and a fellow neighbor. Kyung Lee , Director