Stories from the Recession
By Juliane Huang
Some call it fate. Others call it blind luck. Whatever the term, brothers Austin and Brian Chu set out five months ago on an ambitious 50-state road trip armed only with the desire to tell the stories of everyday Americans coping with the recession.
Without concrete plans or much forethought, the two relied heavily on the kindness of strangers to help actualize their film. Since then, they have gathered over 300 hours of raw footage they aim to condense into a 50 minute length documentary film titled “The Recess Ends.”
“We went in with no plan, no goal, no vision,” documentary filmmaker Austin Chu said. “[Brian and I] thought, ‘Let’s just drive through every state. Let’s just observe. Let’s just listen. Let’s just be open to what people have to say.’ ”
As it turns out, having no plan was the best plan for them. From utilizing social networking sites and major media outlets (the brothers have been featured in CNN, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, and many other local media stations), Austin and Brian followed the spontaneous trail of human connection and always found extremely giving hosts across the nation.
“In Bennington, Vermont, we didn’t know anyone,” Austin said. “We passed through our entire network [and found] a friend of a friend who knew someone who might be working there. Two hours later we got picked up and had a place to stay. People are really generous even when times are bad. Humans are good people.”
And ultimately, that’s the message the Chus hope to impart to audiences. Though family budgets are getting squeezed and employment is harder to retain and even harder to find, there is value in basic human kindness, generosity, understanding, and communication.
