Thanks for your contribution and support!

Stay in tune with your recession news: RecessionWire

The Recess Ends: A Tale Of Two-Hundred Cities

By: Cari Shane Parven

It’s our journey, but it is America’s story,” says Austin Chu, the older of two brothers who drove across the country last year to create a video documentary of the recession. Their project may remind us of some of the famous images that grew out of the Great Depression, photographs such as the “Migrant Mother” series by Dorothea Lange in the 1930s.

The video documentary, The Recess Ends, debuts on the internet this Sunday night.

It is America’s story explains Austin, because the documentary (shot between January and June 2009), is narrated by the people, the sounds and the scenes of the United States during the heart of the recession. The film is woven together in a flowing narrative told by a cross section of Americans of different ages and financial standings as well as religious and ethnic backgrounds.

Austin, 26, came up with the idea for The Recess Ends, so named because “we’ve been playing for so many years and now it’s time to get serious,” after being pink slipped along with 15 others from a California start-up in December 2008.

Brian, 23, who had studied media and film in college, became intrigued with the idea and quit his job to hop in the van with Austin: “I signed the papers and packed my stuff and thought of that commercial ‘you are now free to move about the country,’ and it triggered a thought in me that I should drive across the country. And then I thought, ‘I want to film it, I want there to be a purpose.’”

Because they don’t take themselves too seriously, the brothers simply wanted to explore how the recession was affecting Americans. Beyond that, they didn’t leave Irvine, CA in their 2001 dark green Toyota Sienna van with a hypothesis or a dream.

These young men who “like to think we’re soccer dads without kids,” says Austin, “just followed the news,” says Brian, tuning into regional radio as they made their way through all 50 states. When they heard reports about layoffs at mines and plants, corporations and box stores, the Chus pulled off the highway and pulled into town with their camera and tripod. “We would just show up. Unannounced,” declares Austin.

What they found and documented in this tale of two hundred cities, from farms in Iowa to the inner city of Detroit, the beaches of Hawaii and the suburbs of Arizona, is thousands of forthright people willing to share “their thoughts during some of the most pivotal moments of the recession. What we are doing here, really, is showing America. It is people talking to us… sharing stories, sharing their belief in community,” says Austin.

In fact, the essence of community soon became the common thread that bound one city to the next, ultimately becoming the theme of the documentary.

“I want people to learn about and meet their neighbors. That’s what I want people to take away from this movie,” says Austin. “Know the people on the bus with you. Don’t be afraid of each other. It sounds so hippyish, but when you skim away the money, all the excess, what you are left with is home, health, relationships and community.”

The belief in the power of community and connectivity reverberated throughout the country.

“We need to start with one community at a time… shift money into local spending, create more jobs, not leave it to the experts,” says a 20-something woman on the New Hampshire coast. Her comments were echoed clear across the country by a realtor standing in an abandoned suburban Scottsdale, Arizona suburb. “It’s like a bomb has gone off, nobody is around … If we all get out there and help each other through this period of time that is how we will get to where we need to go.” And again, by a teenager in Milwaukee. “If everyone started doing in their community, you could actually change the world.”

TRE has partnered up Justin.TV and is now officially releasing the film online!

Date: 1-17-09

Time: 5pm (PST)

Watch live video from The Recess Ends on Justin.tv

Date: 2-10-10

Doors opens at 630
Movie starts at 7

University of California, Irvine
HIB 100 (Humanities Instructional Building)
Campus and West Peltason Dr.
Irvine, CA

Q&A After the film

As featured on Matador Life.

Matador’s Austin Chu was on a road trip with a mission. Document the untold stories of America for a feature length film.

Austin was laid off in December 2008 and headed out with his brother to film this incredible portrait of America. Do you have what it takes to be a traveling filmmaker? You never really know until you try!
The Recess Ends Premiered in San Francisco fall 2009.

On the road before “The Recess Ends”

By: Michael Fox

Some documentaries are made to stand forever; others matter at a particular moment in time or not at all. Austin Chu is quite clear which category The Recess Ends belongs to. Shot earlier this year in a host of depressed burgs and ‘burbs across the country, the verité documentary is a pulsing snapshot of the United States at its lowest economic ebb in generations. “I feel it’s one of those pieces that needs to be seen now,” Chu declares. “I can’t wait for anyone. If someone buys it and distributes it next year, we’ve missed the mark.” Made on a shoestring and rushed out into the world, The Recess Ends reflects both the new economy and the future of independent filmmaking.

When Chu was laid off from an Orange County startup last December, the 26-year-old acted on a long-simmering idea he had. Frustrated that the nightly news wasn’t covering the recession’s effects on everyday folks, he pitched the idea of a road trip and a film to his younger brother. Austin was fluent in social networking tools while Brian, a San Francisco State grad with a degree in television and radio, had experience as an editor, production coordinator and camera operator. Two weeks later, Brian quit his job, the brothers pooled $4,000 and the adventure was on.

The brothers figured they could survive if they bought food and fuel, but not hotel rooms. Austin used Facebook and Twitter to update friends along the way and get leads for places to stay. And they relied on the kindness of strangers.

“Our number one goal wasn’t to get a story,” Austin says. “It was never about, ‘Hey, can I interview you?’ We would talk about our project, they would get a feel for us. And they’d say, ‘If you’re ever in X town, call me because I know someone who lives there.’”

One of the curious things about road movies is that limited assets typically turn out to be to the filmmaker’s advantage. “Having no money allowed us to struggle,” Austin confides. “It forced us to talk to people. We would be at a coffee shop after it closed using free Wi-Fi to try and find someone to stay with.” The final tally: In the course of three months of touring around, they only slept in the van around 10 nights.

There was plenty of time for the brothers to talk, needless to say, and shaping The Recess Ends was a favorite topic of conversation. “We started piecing together structure and timeline during downtime on the road,” Austin relates. “By the time we got back to California we already had a basic foundation and a basic structure.”

Perhaps it goes without saying that Austin didn’t embark on this project with grandiose delusions of becoming a household-name documentary filmmaker. Even now, when he’s identified in interviews as a filmmaker, he does a double-take.

“Am I really a filmmaker? I did make a film. There are a lot of producers who don’t produce. And actors who don’t act. If they can call themselves that, so can I. I didn’t go out to make this film to become a filmmaker. I wasn’t a filmmaker before I left. I can’t say I’m a filmmaker after I finished the film. We’re just good at interviewing people and cutting together footage. But I knew how important video media was, and it was a way for me to contribute to society and get my own thoughts around what was going on.”

The brothers hosted a free premiere screening of The Recess Ends in September at the Victoria Theater in the Mission. It might seem odd to give the product away for free—especially when Austin emptied his pockets on admission fees for a couple dozen 2010 film festivals. But his logic is unassailable. “I didn’t want people to have to buy a ticket to see a recession film,” he says. “It didn’t make sense to me.”

The sell-out show also told Austin something: “If we can do one theater, I’m pretty sure we can do two. And if we can do two, we can do a hundred.”

The Recess Ends returns to the Victoria for one more free show next Friday, Nov. 20 (although the filmmakers welcome donations to offset the cost of renting the theater.) To check out the trailer, go to therecessends.com. To sign up for tickets, go to therecessends.eventbrite.com.

Austin, who relocated to the lower Haight following the trip, recoils at news stories that focus on the stock market and increases in GNP and the supposed end of the recession. “We can’t just say it’s over and sweep it under the carpet,” he declares. “This is my way of inviting people to look back at their values and see what’s important. It’s not really a film about the recession—it’s about humanity and people coming together and organizing and inspiring each other.”

Get your movie tickets: HERE

This scavenger crawl is a mash-up of scavenger hunt, fun run, and a costume parade. Teams will each be given a list of challenges at the starting point and the first to complete their selected checkpoints, and cross the finish line, will be the winner.

Why is crawl included? Well, the team heard quite a bit of feedback that adding a few bars to the hunt would increase the fun. And, we are all about fun. So this time around there’s some optional drinking stops involved with some sweet drink deals. Come thirsty!

Scavenger Crawl – Crawl for a cause.
Sunday, November 8, 2-5pm
Check in begins at 1:15pm at Sports Basement at 1590 Bryant St.
Ending point at Jillian’s at the Metreon

$20 per person
For more information and to register, visit ScavengerCrawl

Enjoy drink specials along the way while completing a scavenger hunt throughout some of San Francisco’s historic neighborhoods. The winning team gets $250 in cash. Event proceeds will benefit Whirlwind Wheelchair International, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing uniquely designed wheelchairs to people with disabilities in developing countries.

Some extras to look forward to:

* Take advantage of a 10% discount on your entire purchase at Sports Basement. They will also donate 10% of their sales to the Scavenger Crawl cause. Please help us raise more funds by shopping!
* Enjoy complimentary snacks and drinks (including beer!) at Sports Basement.
* Get ready for the event with free coffee! Courtesy of Peet’s Coffee & Tea and Ritual Coffee Roasters.
* Celebrate with us at our awards ceremony / after party at Jillian’s at the Metreon. There will be drink specials and a portion of sales also goes to our cause!