Top 10* Films of the Decade — About Homelessness

By Catherine Hinrichsen, Project Director, Seattle University’s Project on Family Homelessness

A film about homelessness was named among the top 10 best films of the entire decade. That’s something we couldn’t have foreseen when we first hosted a film screening in 2011, in the anxious moments when we wondered whether anyone would want to come and watch a movie about homelessness.

Then came a stream of memorable characters, stories and performances, as well as creative ways to frame a story about homelessness and ground-breaking access to the people experiencing it.

As the decade’s Top 10 lists began popping up everywhere, and as our project celebrates our 10th anniversary, it’s a good time to reflect on some of the many excellent films made in the 2010s that deal profoundly and sensitively with homelessness. Continue reading

“The Story Told Itself” — Catching Up with Tiny

Film about formerly homeless teen is screened at NAEH Conference

By Catherine Hinrichsen, Project Director, Seattle University’s Project on Family Homelessness
Erin (who goes by her street name “Tiny”) on Pike Street, Seattle, 1983
Erin (who goes by her street name “Tiny”) on Pike Street, Seattle, 1983. Photo by Mary Ellen Mark, courtesy of Falkland Road Productions.

The revered documentary photographer Mary Ellen Mark died months ago, but we felt her presence very strongly as we watched her final work on the night of Feb. 18, 2016. Continue reading