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UID:Indybay-38623
SEQUENCE:38623
CREATED:20040512T214300Z
DESCRIPTION:Bums' Paradise is a 53-minute documentary that depicts the lives of the men 
 and women who lived in the ten-year-old Albany Landfill community prior to 
 their eviction. It follows them through the eviction and documents them one 
 month after the eviction. The film emphasizes their concepts of community 
 as well as the amazing art that they created.   Instead of being a 
 documentary about homelessness, Bums' Paradise considers the question: What 
 if the homeless -- the indigent, the bums -- told their own stories?   This 
 is exactly what filmmakers Tomas McCabe and Andrei Rozen set out to explore 
 with the Albany Landfill residents. Both McCabe and Rozen shot for five 
 months. Landfill resident Robert "Rabbit" Barringer was also given a camera 
 to film life as he experienced it as a resident on the Landfill. What 
 unfolds is a rich and complex story showing the full spectrum of human 
 experience. We see segments on love, family, home, politics, community, 
 art, insanity, and addiction: Paula and Chris are a couple -- Sparky paints 
 pictures on broken pieces of concrete -- Rabbit talks about social 
 egalitarianism and Marxism. Ashby talks about his experiences with the 
 police; "Mad" Mark talks about a gas or liquid drug that induces hypnosis. 
 Jean Paul reveals his shattering thoughts facing jail time versus being 
 evicted:   "Nobody wants to go to jail. But I'd rather go to jail for 
 something I believe in, like my right to exist . . . somewhere."   We see 
 these and other issues approached from the outside as well as the inside, 
 because Landfill residents themselves reveal them to us. In other segments 
 on survival mechanisms, dysfunctional behavior, and creative endeavors, we 
 see the lifestyle they have created together and the codes of protocol they 
 live by. These include practicalities such as not losing the lids to water 
 bottles and sophisticated ideas such as community meetings to discuss 
 problems. We see the amazing amount of creativity found among the residents 
 because they "are allowed to live free of public scorn and scrutiny and the 
 daily harassment of police." (Robert Barringer)   The opening scenes of the 
 documentary show the natural beauty and tranquility of the Landfill and 
 establish a sense of place. Here, we first encounter Rabbit as he describes 
 his views of the Landfill:   "This Landfill stands as a brooding monument 
 to obsolescence. What could be a more appropriate refuge for America's 
 unused people? Here, they can be hidden away from a society which regards 
 them as a nuisance and an eyesore."   Through the combination of McCabe, 
 Rozen, and Rabbit's footage, Bums' Paradise reveals to us the lives of the 
 people living there. It also invites us to get to know several permanent 
 Landfill residents such as "Mad" Mark, whose nighttime endeavors lead to 
 the creation of an enchanting fairy castle, a two-story structure complete 
 with steel-reinforced cement floors, a pointed-arch window, battlements, 
 and a spiral stair, built completely from pieces of discarded concrete 
 slabs. We meet Jimbow the Hobow, who writes moving poetry that cries out to 
 a society that has tossed him aside and Paula, who has penetrated to the 
 heart of what it means to live on the Landfill:   "The kindness that comes 
 from nothing or someone who has next to nothing, but who will give till 
 they can't give no more of their time or their food or their last 35 
 cents."   Then there is Rabbit himself, whose sophisticated drawings, 
 eloquence, and college education are a metaphor for the short distance 
 between us and a life on the Landfill -- he stands as a bridge, showing 
 each of us how fate alone separates us from a life on the streets.   
 Because we get drawn into the lives of the residents, the handling of their 
 eviction directly affects the emotions of the viewer. Watching Dave, a 
 Landfill resident, worrying about what will happen to his puppies more than 
 what will happen to him while being photographed and numbered by the police 
 for his formal eviction papers, tears at the viewer's heart.   The obvious 
 distress of the residents and the hopeless red-tape quagmire witnessed in 
 the City of Albany Council Chambers are brutal to witness. We know the 
 residents now -- they're not just faceless panhandlers. Bums' Paradise is a 
 poignant reminder of what we lose when we lose the human face of 
 homelessness.   ===================   Come see this award-winning film on 
 Thursday, May 13th at 7pm at the Albany High School Library.   It's free... 
 but donations are encouraged!  Robert "Rabbit" Barringer and filmmaker 
 Tomas McCabe will be present for Q&A after the screening.  
 http://www.bumsparadise.com  \n 
 https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2004/05/12/38623.php
SUMMARY:BUMS' PARADISE documentary
LOCATION:Albany High School Library  603 Key Route Blvd  Albany, CA
URL:https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2004/05/12/38623.php
DTSTART:20040514T020000Z
DTEND:20040514T040000Z
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