Boom and Bust: America’s Journey on the Erie Canal

Series/Themes: Documentary, Historical Themes, Political and Social Issues, Staff Picks, Virginia Filmmaking

Genre: Documentaries, Shorts

Film Year: 2015

Locations: USA

Film Length: 31 min.

Director: Paul Wagner

A meditation on economic cycles and the American Dream, this remarkable film tells the tale of industrial expansion and decline along the Erie Canal, and its impact on the lives of workers in four industries: African-American laborers from the Lackawanna Bethlehem steel plant, unionized “scoopers” from the Buffalo grain elevators, female textile workers from Seneca Falls, and a tugboat captain with vivid memories of the past and a passion for the future of the Erie Canal. Boom and Bust questions whether the people of America’s cities can find meaning and worth in the wake of economic collapse. Discussion with filmmaker Paul Wagner and Grace Hale (U.Va.)

Supported by Human Ties

Saturday, November 7
6:15 PM
Downtown Mall : The Southern
Add To Calendar 20151107 18:15 20151107 1444938300 America/New_York VFF: Boom and Bust: America’s Journey on the Erie Canal

A meditation on economic cycles and the American Dream, this remarkable film tells the tale of industrial expansion and decline along the Erie Canal, and its impact on the lives of workers in four industries: African-American laborers from the Lackawanna Bethlehem steel plant, unionized “scoopers” from the Buffalo grain elevators, female textile workers from Seneca Falls, and a tugboat captain with vivid memories of the past and a passion for the future of the Erie Canal. Boom and Bust questions whether the people of America’s cities can find meaning and worth in the wake of economic collapse. Discussion with filmmaker Paul Wagner and Grace Hale (U.Va.)

Supported by Human Ties

 Downtown Mall : The Southern Virginia Film Festival info@virginiafilmfestival.org

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