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Community First, A Home for the Homeless

A feature documentary about a truly unique community transforming the lives of homeless people in Austin, TX.

  • Layton Blaylock
    Director
    Art From the Streets
  • Layton Blaylock
    Producer
    Art From the Streets
  • Layton Blaylock
    Cinematographer
    Art From the Streets
  • Paul Patrin
    Editor
    Farm-City, State
  • Martin Crane
    Music
    The Escape of Prisoner 614
  • Quincy Lowman & Jeff Hastings
    Executive Producers
    Art From the Streets
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 5 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    August 1, 2018
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • SXSW Film Festival
    Austin, TX
    United States
    March 9, 2019
    World Premiere
  • Thin Line Film Fest
    Denton, TX
    United States
    April 13, 2019
    North Texas Premiere
  • Greenwich International Film Festival
    Greenwich, CT
    United States
    May 31, 2019
    East Coast Premiere
  • Vero Beach Wine & Film Festival
    Vero Beach, FL
    United States
    June 7, 2019
  • New Hope Film Festival
    New Hope, PA
    United States
    July 24, 2019
  • Global Peace Film Festival
    Orlando, FL
    United States
    September 21, 2019
  • Catalina Film Festival
    Catalina, CA
    United States
    September 1, 2019
  • Community First Cinema
    Austin, TX
    United States
    June 29, 2019
Director Biography - Layton Blaylock

Layton Blaylock is an award winning filmmaker, director, director of photography, and a founding partner of Inferno Films. His feature documentary "Art From the Streets" was accepted at over 30 film festivals around the world garnering 10 awards including 5 for Best Documentary. "Art From the Streets" was another passion project about an art program for homeless people. The plight of the homeless is a subject near and dear to Layton’s heart. With “Community First, A Home for the Homeless”, he hopes to make a real impact on the lives of homeless people by getting them off the streets, allowing them to heal, restore their self esteem, and become productive which in turn helps our cities and our nation.

Mr. Blaylock has worked on a wide range of documentaries, feature films, tv shows, and informational films over his 40 year career as a cinematographer, director, and producer. He is a graduate of The University of Texas with a degree in Radio-TV-Film and resides in Austin, TX.

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Director Statement

The perplexing issue of homelessness is a subject that is near and dear to me. It pains me to see a fellow human being in such despair. I am utterly confused how this can happen on such a grand scale in the richest country on the planet. How can this be? I realize that there will always be a certain level of homeless people, but it is bewildering that we have so many on the streets of our cities and towns across this great country.

It is imperative that we find some real solutions that actually heal this festering wound. Homeless shelters and food kitchens serve a purpose, but only in an ephemeral way. We need to employ some fresh ideas to tackle this problem, and I believe that Community First! Village is one that is showing real signs of lasting success.

I was first introduced to Alan Graham (CEO of MLF) and Mobile Loaves and Fishes back in 2004 when I was shooting Art From the Streets, a documentary about an art program for homeless people. We happened to be traveling in the same “neighborhoods”. I was impressed with their daily mission of venturing out into the streets distributing food, clothing, and hope. Then I heard about their efforts to provide RV’s to some of our homeless brothers and sisters around Austin. Before I knew it, Community First! Village was a fully developed plan. Alan originally called it an “RV park on steroids”, which has turned out to be an understatement. There was no question in my mind that this was an ideal subject for a documentary. After meeting with Alan, I was ecstatic and honored that he gave me the green-light to proceed. They have granted us open access to the Village and given me complete independence to chronicle this story. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to make this documentary and to share with the world this amazing, transformative effort to restore dignity, hope, and self-worth to our most vulnerable neighbors.