Owned: A Tale of Two Americas weaves together the history of mid-century housing policy in America, which simultaneously created suburbs and wealth from home equity for white people and ghettos and poverty for black people and the ramifications of the 2008 housing market collapse. The documentary provides an epic yet digestible overview of the way property ownership has both constructed and corroded the wealth and wellbeing of the nation. Over time our racist policies have created monocultures in our built environments, and monocultures are inherently vulnerable and makes clear our society can’t thrive in a segregated state.
Director
Giorgio Angelini enrolled in the Master of Architecture program at Rice University during the '08 real estate collapse. In that tumultuous time, the seeds for Giorgio’s directorial debut, Owned, took shape. He launched Ready Fictions production company with producing partner Arthur Jones, and produced Jones' film Feels Good Man.