Cleveland International Film Festival 2011 – Preview “Cleveland vs Wall Street”
Might seem a bit dated, given all that’s transpired since the beginning of the slide in 3 years ago, but the effects are certainly still being felt. Also the way the filmmaker goes about telling the story is unique, as far as this specific subject matter is concerned.
The story goes… in January 2008 Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson took aim at Wall Street with a lawsuit against 21 major investment banks, for enabling the subprime lending and foreclosure crisis in the city. The suit contends that the companies’ irresponsible home loans resulted in widespread defaults, depleting the city’s tax base and leaving neighborhoods in ruins. When Wall Street lawyers blocked attempts to go to court, Swiss director Jean-Stéphane Bron staged an elaborate mock trial, which he filmed with many of the players involved. The result, Cleveland vs Wall Street, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last year.
Heart-wrenching stories of evictions and foreclosures abound, as, in this film, the city of Cleveland gets a shot at retribution.
The film screens this Saturday afternoon, as a Cleveland International Film Festival selection.
While the film has an American distributor, there’s no record that it’s ever been released stateside.
Watch the trailer and 3 clips from the film below:
Watch the 3 clips from the film below: