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Guaranteed in Gary

LOGLINE:
Residents of Gary, Indiana receive five hundred dollars a month for a year, and a chance to imagine a better future for themselves.

SYNOPSIS (BLURB < 75 WORDS):
Five hundred dollars a month for a year from a guaranteed income trial gives the residents of Gary, Indiana, financial space to imagine ways to lift themselves up. Trials like these have proven that poverty is a lack of cash, not a lack of character.

SYNOPSIS (SHORT < 250 WORDS):
Guaranteed in Gary follows a guaranteed income experiment in Gary, Indiana, where residents receive a gift of $500 per month for a year. The G.I.V.E. program is designed to reduce household stress and create the mental and financial space to imagine new pathways to life goals. The U.S. government has long rejected direct cash assistance out of a fear that recipients would mismanage or abuse the funds. This experiment confirms, what many other studies have also found, that given the opportunity to make decisions for themselves, poverty-stricken citizens use the money in effective and beneficial way. One recipient, Augustine, is inspired to return to college at age 67, proving once again that poverty is a lack of cash, not a lack of character. This documentary was funded by Firelight Media and CAAM’s Homegrown initiative with PBS Digital Studios.

  • Darryl Parham
    Director
    America to Me, Hard Earned, Heart of a District
  • Risé Sanders-Weir
    Producer
    America to Me, Gadget Girls
  • Seth McClellan
    Producer
    Others Before Self, Little Wound's Warriors, King in Chicago
  • Andrea de Fraga
    Producer
    Kartemquin Films, Towers Productions
  • Darryl Parham
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 15, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    50,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital UHD
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Cleveland International Film Festival
    Cleveland, OH
    United States
    March 25, 2023
    Worldwide premiere
    Official Selection
  • Milwaukee International Film Festival
    Milwaukee, WI
    United States
    April 22, 2023
    Wisconsin premiere
    Official Selection
  • Indy Shorts International Film Festival
    Indianapolis, IN
    United States
    July 18, 2023
    Indiana
    Official Selection
  • Global Peace Film Festival
    Orlando, FL
    United States
    September 22, 2023
    Florida
    Official Selection
  • Better Cities Film Festival
    Detroit, MI
    United States
    Michigan
    Official Selection
  • Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival
    Middlebury, VT
    United States
    August 24, 2023
    New England
    Official Selection
  • Gary International Black Film Festival
    Gary, IN
    United States
    Official Selection
  • Sidewalk Film Festival

    United States
    August 27, 2023
    Alabama premiere
    Official Selection
  • Awareness Film Festival
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    California premiere
    Merit of Awareness (Honorable Mention)
Distribution Information
  • PBS
    Distributor
    Country: United States
    Rights: Internet, Video on Demand, Pay Per View, Ship, Free TV
Director Biography - Darryl Parham

With over 20 years of experience behind the lens, Darryl has made a commitment to producing visual solutions that meet both creative and technical demands. Having the ability to move from behind the camera to the role of a director has allowed him the unique perspective of being able to tell a captivating story from concept to completion. His projects have given him extensive national and international experience. From The Democratic Republic of Congo to Europe and the Americas he has been provided with the necessary skills to adapt to a variety of situations and work with people of various cultures.
Darryl has worked on a variety of projects ranging from documentaries and corporate assignments to independent films, commercials and live events. A few of the corporations and organizations that he has worked with include Casey Family Programs (Cities United), Walmart (Back To School Commercial), Kartempquin Films (America To Me & Hard Earned Documentary), Google, O.R.S, AARP and The National Urban League to name a few.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

This project is personal for me, which is why I chose to direct it. I grew up in and around the Southside of Chicago. I am the youngest of 7 children. I grew up visiting my sister and her husband who lived in Gary during its waning days as a bustling and thriving city.

Both my community and Gary, while never perfect, were places where you could build a life in the 1950s, 60s and part of the 70s. There was a time, at least for me, when I thought you just needed to work hard, avoid pitfalls and everything would be all right. I was naive. Perhaps it was also that I was young and idealistic – or just simply lacking the experience to be realistic. Work in the steel mills and other heavy industry in this area was hard, but it earned a living that could support a family.

Starting in the 1970s, these industries began shifting overseas, downsizing, and leaving our communities gasping for air. For me, this collapse laid bare the underlying truth of systemic racism and with it, a trail of devastation from the loss of jobs and community structure. High incarcerations seemed to be the only governmental response to the economic pain the community was experiencing. Removing economic underpinnings and turning some of the sufferers into criminals has left scars that have yet to heal, hell, the wound has hardly even closed.