BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Local talent took the big screen on Tuesday night in Bethlehem for the world premiere of a new documentary.
69 News Reporter Amelia Sack has the story from the silver screen at SteelStacks.
Produced by Lehigh Valley native Richard Master and directed and written by Toby Hubner, the documentary, “The $238 Million Apartment” takes a closer look at wealth differences in the U.S..
“It’s about wealth and income equality in the United States, as told through Toby Hubner’s life and career,” says Richard Master, the film’s producer.
“So we talk about the American dream… who gets the American Dream?” says Toby Hubner, the film’s writer and director.
A story in the New York Times about a $238 million apartment in Manhattan prompted Hubner to take a journey across the country, where he found people in the streets relying on food pantries just blocks away from where billionaires reside.
“So the movie is more or less, what happened?” Hubner says.
The film features the work of local animators, sound engineers, and musicians.
And it’s premiere has another tie to the Lehigh Valley
Proceeds from the premiere will benefit the Lehigh Valley Justice Institute, which recently became a part of the United Way.
“The Lehigh Valley Justice Institute is a data driven research and policy analysis organization,” says Joseph Welsh, the Director of Outreach and a Co-Founder with the Lehigh Valley Justice Institute.
Researchers study local communities to try to better the criminal justice system, with studies on things like mental health in schools and the school to prison pipeline.
The institute is making an impact in the Lehigh Valley, with the City of Allentown designating a million dollars for a community youth center.
Welsh says the social and economic justice issues presented in the movie make a big impact on criminal justice, and the funds raised from the film premiere will help the organization continue to make change.