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Lost In America (2017 Film)
''Lost in America'' is a documentary feature film by director Rotimi Rainwater. The film aims to shine a light on the issue of homeless youth in the United States. It investigates the reasons youth become homeless, the challenges they face while on the streets and the possible ways to help them find homes and get off the street for good. The film includes appearances by singers Jon Bon Jovi and Jewel, actors Halle Berry, Rosario Dawson and Mike C. Manning (who is also a producer on the film) and US Senator Patrick Leahy. The film was shown out of competition at the Bentonville Film Festival. Jewel also wrote a track for the film, "No More Tears", which was subsequently included on her 2022 album ''Freewheelin' Woman'' as a duet with Darius Rucker. ''Lost in America'' is a continuation of Rotimi Rainwater's journey of shining the light on youth homelessness after directing the feature film ''Sugar''. Synopsis ''Lost in America'' follows the journey of formerly homeless direc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rotimi Rainwater
Rotimi James Rainwater (born November 29, 1970) is an American writer, director, and producer. He is best known for the film Sugar, and the documentary Lost in America, both of which focus on homeless youth. Personal life Rainwater was born in Banbury, England the only child to James and Margaret Rainwater. He moved to Orlando, Florida at age 7 after his parents divorced where he spent his entire childhood. As he grew up he started writing, and acting in school plays in the 4th grade. He attended St. Andrews School High School in Boca Raton, Florida. In 1988 he went into the US Navy but was discharged after only a year when his mother was diagnosed with cancer. Rainwater then spent 9 months homeless on the streets of Orlando, FL while taking care of his mother who eventually died in 1993. Career Rainwater started in the film business as a production assistant in films such as Passenger 57, My Girl, Problem Child and on television shows such as Superboy and Swamp Thing. Afte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patrick Leahy
Patrick Joseph Leahy (; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who is the senior United States senator from Vermont and serves as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, Leahy was first elected in 1974 and is in his eighth term. He is the chair of the Appropriations Committee, and served as president pro tempore from 2012 to 2015 and again since 2021. Upon Representative Don Young's death in March 2022, he became the most senior member of Congress. Leahy is also the last of the Senate's "Watergate Babies"—Democrats first elected to Congress in the wave election of 1974 that followed President Richard Nixon's resignation over the Watergate scandal. , Leahy is one of three members of Congress to have served during Gerald Ford's presidency and one of eight to have served during Jimmy Carter's. The dean of his state's congressional delegation, Leahy is Vermont's longest-serving U.S. senator, as well a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
LGBTQ
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is an adaptation of the initialism ', which began to replace the term ''gay'' (or ''gay and lesbian'') in reference to the broader LGBT community beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s. When not inclusive of transgender people, the shorter term LGB is still used instead of LGBT. It may refer to anyone who is non-heterosexual or non-cisgender, instead of exclusively to people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. To recognize this inclusion, a popular variant, ', adds the letter ''Q'' for those who identify as queer or are questioning their sexual or gender identity. The initialisms ''LGBT'' or ''GLBT'' are not agreed to by everyone that they are supposed to include. History of the term The first widely used term, '' homosexual'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foster Care System
Foster care is a system in which a underage, minor has been placed into a ward (law), ward, group home (Residential Child Care Community, residential child care community, Treatment centre, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family member approved by the state. The placement of the child is normally arranged through the government or a social service agency. The institution, group home, or foster parent is compensated for expenses unless with a family member. In some states, relative or "Kinship" caregivers of children who are wards of the state are provided with a financial stipend. The state, via the family court and child protective services agency, stand ''in loco parentis'' to the minor, making all legal decisions while the foster parent is responsible for the day-to-day care of the minor. Scholars and activists are concerned about the efficacy of the foster care services provided by NGOs. Spe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sex Trafficking
Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. It has been called a form of modern slavery because of the way victims are forced into sexual acts non-consensually, in a form of sexual slavery. Perpetrators of the crime are called sex traffickers or pimps—people who manipulate victims to engage in various forms of commercial sex with paying customers. Sex traffickers use force, fraud, and coercion as they recruit, transport, and provide their victims as prostitutes. Sometimes victims are brought into a situation of dependency on their trafficker(s), financially or emotionally. Every aspect of sex trafficking is considered a crime, from acquisition to transportation and exploitation of victims. This includes any sexual exploitation of adults or minors, including child sex tourism (CST) and domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST). In 2012, the International Labour Organization (ILO) reported 20.9 million people were subjected to forced labor, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Contributor (street Paper)
''The Contributor'' is a bi-weekly street newspaper published in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The publication's content focuses on primarily social justice issues as they are framed by politics, music, art, culture, sports, homelessness and poverty. It is written by local journalists as well as people experiencing homelessness or working within the homeless community. The magazine's editors are Amanda Haggard and Linda Bailey. As an organization, The Contributor is a nonprofit social enterprise providing economic opportunity with dignity to people experiencing or who have experienced homelessness and poverty. Every two weeks, a new issue of The Contributor is published and sold by over 150 vendors in Middle Tennessee. By signing a contract and attending training, Contributor vendors become independent micro-business men and women who invest in their own micro-businesses by purchasing papers for $.50 and selling them for $2.00 plus tips to the public. They become Contributo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sugar (2013 Film)
''Sugar'' is an American film released on November 8, 2013 in conjunction with Homeless Youth Awareness Month. The film was directed by Rotimi Rainwater, written by Tony Aloupis and Rotimi Rainwater, and stars Shenae Grimes, Marshall Allman, Corbin Bleu, and Austin Williams. The film is based on the experiences Rainwater had when he himself lived on the streets. Plot Based on true events experienced by Rotimi Rainwater, ''Sugar'' is the story of a young girl named Sugar with a troubled past trying to survive on the streets of Venice Beach. Sugar suffers from PTSD after losing her entire family in a horrific car crash. She survives with her group of outcast friends on the streets of Venice Beach, trying to find their own place in the world. Like so many homeless youth, Sugar is running from the pain of her past and will do anything to escape it. However, with the help of Bishop, her counselor in the youth shelter, she is able to reconnect with her uncle who has been searching for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darius Rucker
Darius Carlos Rucker (born May 13, 1966) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which he founded in 1986 at the University of South Carolina along with Mark Bryan, Jim "Soni" Sonefeld, and Dean Felber. The band released five studio albums with Rucker as a member and charted six top 40 hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Rucker co-wrote most of the songs with the other members of the band. He released a solo R&B album, ''Back to Then'' in 2002 on Hidden Beach Recordings but no singles from it charted. Six years later, Rucker signed to Capitol Nashville as a country music singer, releasing the album, '' Learn to Live'' that year. Its first single, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It", made him the first Black artist to reach number one on the Hot Country Songs charts since Charley Pride in 1983. (Ray Charles hit number one in March 1985 in a duet with Willie Nelson with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freewheelin' Woman
''Freewheelin' Woman'' is the thirteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Jewel, released on April 15, 2022, via her own label, Words Matter Media. It is Jewel's first album in seven years, following 2015's '' Picking Up the Pieces''. The album was co-produced by Jewel and Butch Walker and was developed with the intention for Jewel to create music that she felt connected to and excited about rather than creating in order to meet expectations. Lyrically, the album touches on themes of independence, hope, womanhood, and heartbreak. Background Jewel recorded the album live with a band and was partly inspired by famous R&B and soul records made in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, with the artist stating, "I cut my teeth on singers like Ella Fitzgerald, Dusty Springfield, and Sarah Vaughan and got into those Muscle Shoals records a little later on, and for some reason that's where my voice and my writing wanted to go on this album". Regarding the musical diversity, Jewel explained t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bentonville Film Festival
The Bentonville Film Festival (BFF) is an American film festival held annually in Bentonville, Arkansas that focuses on diversity. Foundation Bentonville Film Festival was founded by actress Geena Davis and ARC Entertainment executive Trevor Drinkwater. Bentonville was chosen as the location after Walmart, the founding sponsor, suggested it. After Drinkwater learned Walmart was interested in supporting diversity initiatives, he brought in Davis, who he knew would be interested because of her work with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. The BFF is the only film festival in the world to offer guaranteed multi-platform distribution to its winners. Films that win the Audience, Jury, and Best Family Film awards receive theatrical distribution from AMC Theatres, are shown on Lifetime television, and get a DVD or video-on-demand release from Walmart and Vudu. In 2015, 87% of the films shown were distributed in some way. The festival is notable is that until 2018, ther ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
