UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — At 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 12, as part of its Intersections film program, Penn State Sustainability (SustainPSU), is hosting an online screening of “Fire Through Dry Grass,” a documentary profiling the experience of residents in a New York City nursing home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The film illustrates the structural inequalities faced by low-income communities, disabled communities, and communities of color that affected differences in health outcomes during the pandemic.
“This film is a powerful reminder about the stories of hardship that were largely hidden during the Covid pandemic,” said Grant Rowe, public programming coordinator for SustainPSU. “But it’s also an empowering story of individuals who refused to stay silent and banded together to advocate for their community. We hope attendees will leave understanding that rights for the disabled and promoting racial justice are ultimately about recognizing fundamental human rights and the need for society to build resilient communities that work for all people.”
The film is both about and created by the Reality Poets — a group of mostly gun violence survivors — who filmed their daily lives during the pandemic while at Coler Specialty Hospital and Chronic Care Nursing Home in New York City. This city-run nursing home became one of the epicenters of New York’s early efforts to manage the pandemic. Able to travel freely through the hospital on their motorized wheelchairs, the Poets document the confusion and lack of personal protection facing the staff, as well as the fear of vulnerable residents who are housed in rooms with Covid-positive patients without masks, protection, or information.
While the film is a harrowing profile of their long lockdown away from society and of government mismanagement, it is also about hope, as these disabled Black and brown artists refused to be abused, confined or erased and began to advocate and organize on behalf of their vulnerable community.
Introducing the film will be Eric Klinenberg, Helen Gould Shepard Professor of Social Science and director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University and author most recently of the bestselling “2020: One City, Seven People, and the Year Everything Changed.” Klinenberg will serve as the keynote at Penn State’s Colloquium on the Environment on April 9 (rescheduled from Feb. 5), where he will discuss sociological factors that strongly affect health outcomes and the power of social connectedness to mitigate mortality in health crises.
Following the film, Penn State Sustainability will host a panel discussion to explore how we can overcome structural challenges and create more resilient communities that protect vulnerable residents. Scheduled to participate in the discussion are:
- Kristina Brant, assistant professor of rural sociology
- Erica Husser, assistant research professor of nursing
- Suzanne Smeltzer, professor and director of Villanova University’s Health Promotion for Women with Disabilities Project
- Meghan Snelling, senior studying music with a minor in disability studies
The Intersections film program is starting its sixth year and has drawn nearly 7,000 attendees to more than 50 films since 2019. This particular film screening is a collaboration with POV, PBS’ award-winning nonfiction film series, and is also screening in partnership with WPSU. The film originally premiered on POV on Oct. 30, 2023.
The screening is free and open to all. Pre-registration is required at this link. For more information, contact Grant Rowe at ger5277@psu.edu.