S1.E5 ∙ Hearst vs. Pulitzer

MONEY and LIFE is a passionate and inspirational essay-style documentary that makes a provocative proposition: can we see the economic crisis not as a disaster, but as a tremendous opportunity? An optimistic film steeped in appreciation for human ingenuity, MONEY and LIFE is a respectful invitation to consider questions critical to all our well-being: How can we move beyond being merely consumers, debtors and creditors, and put money in service to what we really care about as citizens, as human beings? Can we design a monetary circulation system that fosters democratic equality? What does it really mean to make a living? MONEY and LIFE empowers each of us to respond to the fundamental issues of our time and participate in the emerging new economy.

After the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011, Komori Haruka and Seo Natsumi chose to live and film in Rikuzentakata. This work is a visual record of four people who applied for a workshop Komori and Seo devised, showing them visiting the town and getting to know its people and landscape. The opportunity to hear personal experiences of the disaster decreases with time, but this film provides a bridge to new encounters and communication, in addition to including a story written by Seo entitled "Double Layered Town."

The films follows a man through the post apocalyptic environment of the housing crisis in the Mojave Desert. His job is to rid the pools of foreclosed homes of unwanted pests. On the road through this isolated region, he reflects on alternative ways of living and finds himself in his own solitude. CALIFORNIA CITY is a hybrid film which fluidly crosses the borders between fiction, documentary and essay. The form reflects the narrator's state of mind through feature film elements and an impressionistic use of images, photos and narration.

Deep Run is a powerful verité portrait of trans life in rural North Carolina. Cole Ray Davis is a young trans man who uses his candid humor and steadfast, all-inclusive Christian beliefs to counter the bigotry he experiences daily.

Set against the backdrop of a town's annual snowmobile race, this cinematic, observational documentary explores the American working class experience.