After 4 years of following the lives of West Oakland’s recyclers, hours of interviews with local dignitaries, historians, business owners and citizens, and countless late night edits of footage and grant proposals, Redemption is well on its way to completion. Over the last year, we have received grants from several notable foundations, including the Sundance Institute, Cal Humanities, The San Francisco Foundation, BAVC, the Pacific Pioneer Fund, the Semnani Family Foundation, and others. Within the next few weeks, the film will officially enter the post-production stage, which will be kicked-off by an Indiegogo campaign to help finance this final and vital stage of development.
It is at this critical juncture that we have asked ourselves how we might share those 4 years – and the future of Redemption – with our friends and viewers. It is in this spirit of sharing that “Your Daily Redemption” has been created.
But we envision this blog as far more than a simple hub for updates, articles, and videos. We hope that it can become the online reflection of West Oakland itself – a place where the recyclers can provide unique insight into their lives, whether it be their dreams, personal histories, or even thoughts on current events. And beyond the recyclers, we hope to invite guest bloggers, videographers, photographers, artists, storytellers, and others dealing with the topics of poverty, justice, the environment, social movements, or whatever else, to share their work and stories with us and to help us build links and bonds across cultures and communities.
Through this spirit of sharing, this blog will become much more than a simple bugle for the film and its creators. Instead, it will become part of a broader celebration of the mosaic of life found not only in West Oakland, but throughout the world.
We invite you to join us on our journey, and sincerely hope you will invite us on yours.
-The Redemption Team
If you would like to submit a piece to be considered for Your Daily Redemption, please send the appropriate materials to redemptiondocumentary@gmail.com.