In 2014, for AVLF’s first film screening, we sponsored a viewing of the documentary American Winter.

Directed by Emmy award-winning filmmakers Joe and Harry Gantz (Taxicab Confessions, The Defenders) American Winter follows the personal stories of eight families struggling in the wake of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The film presents an intimate snapshot of the state of the economy as it is playing out in the lives of American families and highlights the human impact of budget cuts to social services, a shrinking middle class, and the fracturing of the American Dream. Through the stories of these families, the documentary vividly shows how one lost job can cascade into depleted savings, utility shut-offs, eviction, homelessness, hunger, and profound hopelessness.

Lawyers working for the common good are not immune to the sense that the task of dismantling unjust systems is just too immense. When the work feels overwhelming – and it always does – we must remember the power of small mercies to restore an ounce of hope.