Inside Akron's Tent City
Shot on an iPhone 7+ for less than $1K, “Inside Akron’s Tent City” documents a local homeless community’s attempt to self-organized and the Akron city government’s efforts to displace them. Juxtaposing interviews with city officials and the houseless residents of the tent community, the documentary subverts stereotypes and humanizes a marginalized portion of American society.
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Kevin NaughtonDirectorDigging, Nothing To Do With Luck
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Kevin NaughtonWriterDigging, Nothing To Do With Luck
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Jason DunlapWriterHealing a Community : a 150 Year Story
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Jeffrey SteinwachsWriter
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Ian DouglasProducer
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Kevin NaughtonProducer
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Jim BachaProducer
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Project Type:Documentary
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Runtime:42 minutes
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Completion Date:January 14, 2019
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Production Budget:1,000 USD
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:iPhone 7+
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Digital Cinema Package:Unavailable
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Cleveland International Film FestivalCleveland, Ohio
United States
April 4, 2019
North American Premier
Official Selection -
Youngstown Independent Film FestivalYoungstown, Ohio
United States
October 12, 2019
Best Documentary
A Northeast Ohio native, Kevin Naughton is an independent filmmaker and journalist. He first start experimenting with filmmaking in high school, and his experimental short film “Mr. Smith” won an award for “Best Imaginative Short Film” at the 2006 TVT Awards, a regional high school student film contest held in Pennsylvania. After graduating from the University of Akron in 2011 with a degree in Anthropology, he returned to filmmaking, creating experimental film projects with his friends. His fictional narrative short films “Nothing To Do With Luck” and “Digging” were featured in the 2016 and 2017 “Short. Sweet. Film Fest.” respectively. In 2015, he started writing for PressureLife Magazine, and in 2016 he created the publication’s video department and began filming short documentary pieces covering arts, culture, and politics in and around Northeast Ohio.
I believe that grassroots activism and artistry go hand in hand. An artist has a responsibility to expose and draw attention to social and political issues that are being deliberately or unwittingly downplayed or ignored by the privileged and powerful. Filmmaking has the power to make an audience look a socially marginalized individual in the face and listen to them, quite literally, when they might not otherwise have that opportunity.