How I Got Over

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How I Got Over is an intimate, innovative profile of 15 formerly homeless and incarcerated African-American women that d... (more)

How I Got Over is an intimate, innovative profile of 15 formerly homeless and incarcerated African-American women that dramatically reveals the social causes of their plight and how their lives were transformed. The film follows the women for 12 weeks as they craft and rehearse an original play based on their harrowing, true-life stories. None have had any acting experience and are guided by the Theater Lab's Life Stories program. Their work together leads to an emotional, one-night only, sold-out performance at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. All 15 are from the nation's capitol, where 21% of women live in poverty. Many seek shelter at N Street Village, a homeless and recovery facility, and the backdrop for the film. As their stories unfold, we learn that most of them suffered earlier trauma and abuse -- including domestic violence and incest -- that led to their lives of drug abuse and homelessness. Reckoning with their troubled pasts in the play, addiction and homelessness look less like the result of personal choices and more clearly an outcome of the social circumstances they were born into. How I Got Over begins by tracing how America has declared war on poverty over and over again without much, if any, success. The film ends with the women quite literally stepping out of the darkness and into the spotlight, with an uplifting performance that provides a call to reconsider the root causes of poverty and homelessness, and what might be accomplished if more resources were devoted to recovery support, as well as to the transformative power of theater and the arts. (less)