Courtesy image.
OXNARD — OPAC, the Oxnard Performing Arts Center Corporation, will host a free screening of the new documentary, Lost in America, on Saturday, May 22 at 7 pm at Plaza Cinemas in Downtown Oxnard. The event is free and open to the public and will include a Q&A with the filmmaker, Rotimi Rainwater, following the screening. The event is part of OPAC’s two-year programming series called Close to Home, a Community Conversation Spotlighting the People, Places, and Perspectives Surrounding Homelessness.
Lost in America is a feature documentary that follows director Rotimi Rainwater, a former homeless youth, on his six-year journey to shine a light on the issue of youth homelessness. This seminal documentary is the first film to take a national look at the issue of youth homelessness in America, highlighting the main issues that surround it: sex trafficking, the failure of the foster care system, and the rampant rejection of LGBTQ youth. It also examines what many organizations, politicians, and other public figures are doing (or not doing) to help these youth in order to answer one major question; how, in the wealthiest country in the world, can 4.2 million youth experience homelessness every year?
The film features interviews with Jewel (executive producer), Rosario Dawson (executive producer), Tiffany Haddish, Miley Cyrus, Jon Bon Jovi, Halle Berry, Sanaa Lathan, and others, giving an unflinching, honest look at what these youth have to endure just to survive, and why as a nation this is one epidemic we just don’t want to see.
Joining Mr. Rainwater on the Q&A panel are representatives from local organizations working at the intersection of youth homelessness and issues portrayed in the film. The panel will be moderated by Close to Home’s Humanities Advisor, sociologist Dr. Sunghee Nam of CSU CI. On the panel will also be Oxnard photographer, Christian Ramirez, who as part of the Close to Home series, worked with foster youth from Trinity House on a photography program during the pandemic, documenting their lives and landscapes. Their photographs will be shown at this event and will be exhibited on a Utility Box, as a public art installation, in downtown Oxnard at the corner of 5th and Meta Streets, near the Transit Center.
Space is limited due to COVID-19 Safety Guidelines. Tickets are free but must be reserved in advance through Eventbrite. Attendees will be asked to follow the theater’s safety protocols.
Lost In America Screening + Q&A w/ filmmaker Rotimi Rainwater
Saturday, May 22, 2021, at 7 pm
@ Plaza Stadium Cinemas 14 | 255 W 5th St, Oxnard, CA 93030
Tickets can be reserved at: https://bit.ly/3xLOttg
This project was made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.