May 16, 2016

A HUG FROM PAUL RYAN, a new short film on the working poor, debuted this week as part of a SundanceNow series on Justice in America. The 5-minute documentary follows Tianna Gaines-Turner, one of America’s working poor and a member of Witnesses to Hunger in Drexel's Center for Hunger-Free Communities, after her testimony at the 2014 House Budget Committee’s “War on Poverty” hearing. Sharing a personal moment with Congressman Paul Ryan, then House Budget Committee Chairman, Tianna hoped her voice, representative of millions of Americans, would be a call to action. The film shows what has and hasn’t changed, one year post-hug.

A HUG FROM PAUL RYAN is included in Take 5: Justice in America, a new original series of five short documentaries exploring hot-button issues including the working poor, voting rights, bail reform, gun control and gentrification. SundanceNow Doc Club, AMC Networks’ boutique, ad-free streaming video on demand service, has made the films viewable for free beginning May 17, 2016.

Started in Philadelphia in 2008 by Drexel’s Center for Hunger-Free Communities, Witnesses to Hunger is a research and advocacy project partnering with mothers and caregivers of young children who have experienced hunger and poverty. The Witnesses to Hunger network includes member chapters in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, Camden, New Haven, CT, and Washington, DC.

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