Presented with Legal Aid of Nebraska, a panel discussion on Omaha’s housing crisis, eviction, and tenant rights will follow the film.
99 HOMES is an insightful and dramatically complex film set during the 2008 housing crisis about a struggling single father who loses his home and tries to get it back by working for the man who evicted him.
Director and writer Rami Bahrini spoke to The A.V. Club about his approach to depicting this tumultuous time in America: “The movie doesn’t really take sides on these issues, and I think that’s what works about it. Michael Shannon’s character says that homes are just boxes, they’re things you can make money on. I don’t disagree with that. I think he’s right. Andrew [Garfield] and Laura [Dern], their characters say that the home is a place of community, of safety, of memories, that it should reflect who you are. I think they’re right, too. The movie doesn’t take sides on these issues. It lets the ideas bang heads. All the economic policies […] were implemented by Democrats and Republicans alike. I really have no agenda here […] The 99 percent is not partisan — that’s everybody.”
Following the film will be a panel discussion on Omaha’s housing crisis, eviction, and tenant rights with Scott Mertz, housing attorney with Legal Aid of Nebraska, Gary Fischer, General Counsel at Family Housing Advisory Services, and Amanda Brewer, CEO of Habitat for Humanity. Moderated by Jannette Taylor, Statewide Administrator of Children Services at Lutheran Family Services and Film Streams Community Development Committee Member.
