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How one D.C. program is turning the homeless into filmmakers
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While the homeless are often overlooked or ignored by society, their stories are coming to a screen near you. - photo by Shelby Slade
While the homeless are often overlooked or ignored by society, their stories are coming to a screen near you.

The Street Sense Film Co-Op in Washington, D.C., has given aspiring filmmakers who are also homeless a chance to write, direct and produce films about their lives and the lives of other homeless people, Vicky Gan of City Lab reported.

The co-op is run by Street Sense, which also gives people experiencing homelessness a chance to contribute to and sell a newspaper that talks about poverty, Gan said.

All the members of the co-op are former vendors who have taken lessons on filmmaking and work together to complete movies about their lives, Gan explained.

Some of the films the program has produced, which tell stories about poverty, finding ones identity and pursuing dreams, include "Fairness Rising," "I Am Levester Joe Green II" and "Late Show."

See a video explaining the program and highlighting the work it has produced.
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