Over the past four days, I have viewed all the hours of interviews and footage I captured last summer and fall at the Minneapolis Native American homeless camp. Unknown to me at the time of each individual visit was the degree of raw humanity, the story lines, and the lessons revealed by this project’s entirety.

Since that time, I’ve been offering you glimpses of this work as part of a greater project on homelessness in the U.S. However, I’ve decided to make a change. I’m going to refocus all my efforts solely on the story of last year’s tent city in Minneapolis.

The main reasons for this are:

1. This is a story deserving of its own movie.
2. My original project on homelessness in America was becoming too broad–to include many populations, many fields of study, over decades of history.
3. I can premiere this tent city documentary by an earlier date, with more public interest, and with a greater impact on the situation here.

In fact, I already have a date in mind for the premiere in Minneapolis: the third weekend in May (the night of the 17th or 18th).

This documentary will share the story of this homeless camp: its origin and growth; city and community responses; the hardships, teamwork, and tragedy of everyday life in the camp; and finally, its resolution.

Perhaps more important, this documentary will also feature the stories within. Where did all these people come from? What were their histories, present circumstances, and hopes for the future? And how did certain residents change (or stagnate) while spending months there?

It is my hope that in addressing these points, this film (presented from a non-political perspective) will open hearts and minds. It is also my hope to see you all the premiere. For being a backer of my work, you already have a ticket waiting for you.

All other tickets sold (as well as a collection the night of the premiere) will go toward helping those individuals looking to build their lives up from the grounds of that homeless camp.

Between then and now, I’ll be spending as much time as I can (and as needed) on this project. Look for more updates on the project and the premiere in the coming days and weeks. There will be much to share!

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, for making this all possible. If you’d like to help further, please share this project with others.

-Brandon

**Regarding my original idea of a series about homelessness in America–and all my collected material from Houston, Dallas, & all the other folks I interviewed around the Twin Cities–I will pick back up this project following the completion of the film about last year’s tent city in Minneapolis.**