PUSHBACK Talks
Cities are becoming increasingly unliveable for most people. Costs are rising but incomes are not. Sky-high rents, evictions, homelessness, and substandard housing are common realities for urban dwellers across the planet. There is a global housing crisis. How did this basic human right get so lost? Who is pushing people out of their homes and cities, and what’s being done to pushback?
On the heels of the release of the award-winning documentary, PUSH, filmmaker, Fredrik Gertten and Leilani Farha, the former UN Special Rapporteur on the right to housing, have reconvened. Join the filmmaker and the advocate as they reflect on their experiences making PUSH and exchange ideas and stories about the film's central issue: the financialization of housing and its fall-out.
For more about PUSH and to view it: www.pushthefilm.com
For more about Fredrik Gertten and his other films: www.wgfilm.com
For more about Leilani Farha in her new role, Global Director of The Shift: www.make-the-shift.org
PUSHBACK Talks
Palestine and the Heartache of an Advocate
The Filmmaker and the Advocate are traveling again!
While traveling to Palestine on a research trip at the invitation of the Norwegian Refugee Council, The Advocate was confronted with her family history and what her parents call "The Palestinian Heartache." Her trip through the villages of Area C of the Occupied Palestinian Territories left her focused on the hope of a future where the Palestinian people have a voice. The Advocate also talks about learning to persevere in her work while while carrying sadness, and fighting with human rights.
All that, plus a week-long stopover in Pittsburgh to launch Fair Housing Month. Formerly a hub for the steel industry and home to jazz legends, the city's population has dropped by more than half in recent years, and the number keeps on dwindling. The city has yet to fall victim to some of the more virulent forms of financialization - and the Advocate is hoping to keep it that way.
And where has the Filmmaker been lately? Listen to the end to find out!
*See Leilani's photos from her trip to Palestine here.
*Please note this episode was recorded in early April, before the religious holidays and prior to the recent violence that has emerged.