Rosario Dawson is ready to shine a greater spotlight on youth homelessness in the U.S. in theaters around the country.
Indican Pictures has acquired the North American distribution rights to the documentary Lost in America, executive produced by the 40-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban American actress/activist and Jewel.
Directed by Rotimi Rainwater, the documentary feature is the first film to take a national look at the issue of youth homelessness in America, highlighting the main issues that surround it: sex trafficking, the failure of the foster care system, and the rampant rejection of LGBTQ youth.
The doc is slated for a theatrical release in November.
Lost In America follows director Rainwater, a former homeless youth, on his six-year journey to shine a light on the issue of youth homelessness.
The film features interviews with more than 30 youth in 15 cities, as well as politicians and public figures including Tiffany Haddish, Halle Berry, Jon Bon Jovi, Miley Cyrus, Sanaa Lathan,Rebecca Gayheart-Dane.
The film gives an unflinching, honest look at what these youth have to endure just to survive, and why as a nation, this is one epidemic we just didn’t see coming. It also examines what many organizations and politicians are doing (or not doing) to help these youth in order to answer one major question: how, in the wealthiest country in the world, can 4.2 million youth experience homelessness every year?
“It took me 25 years to talk about my time on the streets, and this film is the result of my six-year journey to not only reconcile what I went through, and to hopefully help ensure that no other youth have to experience being homeless,” said Rainwater. “I am humbled and honored that it will finally be coming out. And I hope that it helps educate Americans to the truth of youth homelessness, and helps engage and enrage all of us to be a voice for those who truly need one.”
Rotimi is a writer-director and producer known for his narrative feature Sugar which was loosely based on his time on the streets. After screening the film for homeless youth organizations around the country, and even for Congress, Rotimi was inspired to make Lost In America.
“This is not just a film, it’s a call to action. This represents our chance to give those left on the streets a fighting chance to simply live a humane life,” said Randolph Kret,CEO and founder of Indican Pictures. “The first step is creating ongoing awareness, and Lost in America marks this first step.”