Skin of Glass
A journey to reckon with Brazil’s harsh inequality begins when filmmaker Denise Zmekhol discovers her father’s architectural masterpiece is occupied by hundreds of homeless people.
Dogtown Redemption
Four recyclers in Oakland struggle to survive in a neighborhood already decimated by unemployment, addiction, and violence.
- Series
- Independent Lens
- Premiere Date
- May 16, 2016
- Length
- 60 minutes
Producer/Co-Director
Amir Soltani
Amir Soltani is an Iranian-American storyteller and human rights activist. He has worked across media as an author, journalist, and filmmaker. He has also worked in business, nonprofits, and philanthropy, most recently as executive director of the Semnani Family Foundation.
- Other ITVS Films
- Skin of Glass
Co-Director
Chihiro Wimbush
Chihiro Wimbush is a hapa filmmaker based in Oakland, California. Most recently he served as editor of the award-winning Changing Season: On the Masumoto Family Farm. With his wife Meena Srinivasan, he creates mindful media and education content via their nonprofit organization, A Lens Inside. Between chasing shopping carts and other stories, Chihiro… Show more
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The Film
For a number of residents in Dogtown, one of Oakland’s poorest neighborhoods, income from collecting and recycling others’ trash is a primary source of income. To other residents, however, recycling only adds to the dirt and noise in the community. Dogtown Redemption explores the complex dynamics of race, class, and systemic poverty as it tells the story of four recyclers who struggle to survive in a neighborhood already decimated by unemployment, addiction, and violence.
