Private Project

Inside Akron's Tent City - Episode 1

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 web series subverts stereotypes and humanizes a marginalized portion of American society.

  • Kevin Naughton
    Director
    Digging, Nothing To Do With Luck
  • Jason Dunlap
    Writer
    Healing a Community : a 150 Year Story
  • Kevin Naughton
    Writer
    Digging, Nothing To Do With Luck
  • Jeffrey Steinwachs
    Writer
  • Jim Bacha
    Producer
  • Ian Douglas
    Producer
    Shy of Midnight
  • Kevin Naughton
    Producer
    Digging, Nothing To Do With Luck
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Web / New Media
  • Runtime:
    13 minutes 3 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 14, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    1,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    iPhone 7+
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Cleveland International Film Festival
    Cleveland, Ohio
    United States
    April 4, 2019
    Festival Premier
  • Youngstown Independent Film Festival
    Youngstown, Ohio
    United States
    October 12, 2019
    Best Documentary
Director Biography - Kevin Naughton

A Northeast Ohio native, Kevin Naughton is an independent filmmaker and journalist. He first started 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 independent film projects with various artists in Cleveland. 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 where he began filming short documentary pieces covering arts, culture, and politics in and around Northeast Ohio. In 2019, his documentary web series “Inside Akron’s Tent City” was an official selection in the Cleveland International Film Festival and the Youngstown Independent Film Festival. Most recently, he was selected as one of the five inaugural recipients of SPACES Gallery’s URGENT Art Fund. He also plays bass guitar in the bands "Harvey Pekar" and "Suede Brothers".

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Director Statement

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.