FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Scarlett Bouder
216-288-8389
Anthony Flint
617-661-3016 x116
NEW DOCUMENTARY FILM ON CLEVELAND SET TO AIR
Cleveland: Confronting Decline in an American City is Latest in Lincoln Institute Series
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The second documentary film in the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy “Making Sense of Place” series, Cleveland: Confronting Decline in an American City, is set to air on Cleveland PBS station WVIZ Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. and again Oct. 1 at 11 a.m., in both cases followed by an in-studio roundtable discussion.
The film, shot in Greater Cleveland during 2004 and 2005 by Northern Light Productions, a Boston-based film and video production company, examines how policymakers, community groups and others have wrestled with urban decay, the erosion of inner suburbs and the growth of outer suburbs in what was once America’s fifth largest city – and what future solutions might be.
Cleveland: Confronting Decline in an American City, which follows the first film in the series, Phoenix: The Urban Desert, will be shown at screenings all around Cleveland in the months ahead. The goal is to stimulate discussion among residents and civic and community leaders, said Gregory K. Ingram, president of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
The Lincoln Institute is a think-tank based in Cambridge, Mass. that holds conferences and produces extensive research on land, development and tax issues. “The film allows us to engage people who might not otherwise be engaged, on these critical issues facing our cities,” Ingram said.
Bestor Cram, founder of Northern Light Productions, conducted dozens of interviews with residents, business leaders, commentators and others to trace a narrative of both despair and hope, particularly in revitalizing neighborhoods such as University Circle, Tremont and parts of Hough. The film tells the story of Cleveland but also of many other cities struggling with sprawl, population loss, economic development and schools, Cram said. “This film is for a general audience who feels that there is something at stake when they think about the city they live in.”
Cleveland: Confronting Decline in an American City was shot in digital video and is 58 minutes long. For more information on the film go to www.lincolninst.edu, or contact Scarlett Bouder in Cleveland or Anthony Flint at the Lincoln Institute in Cambridge.
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