Documentary Focused on Effects of America’s Housing Foreclosure Crisis Now Available on North American VOD Platforms and DVD on July 16, 2024
THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR documents the effects of the foreclosure crisis on Northeast Ohio and the neighborhoods of Slavic Village and East Cleveland – ground zero for this man-made disaster. There were many culpable parties including mortgage brokers, uninformed buyers, unscrupulous sellers who jacked up the price of the property, willfully blind appraisers who went along with inflated home prices, and mortgage bankers out to make mad money, and of course, Wall Street. At best these people simply ignored the warning signs in favor of a quick buck, at worst this was a giant conspiracy of complicity. And even though there were multiple guilty parties nobody ever went to jail except for a few small-time property brokers in places like Cleveland. This film examines: the roots of this crisis; why it impacted Cleveland so badly; what the city had to do to clean up the mess; and most importantly, could this nightmare ever happen again?
Written, directed, and produced by John P. Vourlis. THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR was produced and edited by Graham Emerson Beck. THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR was also produced by Evan W. Prunty. Individuals featured in THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR include Barbara Anderson, Bill Behrens, Tony Brancatelli, Ron Byrd, Marc Dann, Frank Ford, Gus Frangos, Norman Lange, Ivan Lee, Blaine Murphy, Tim Petti, James Rokakis, Marc Stefanski, and Charles Stimac.
“I wanted to create a film that was informative, entertaining, and thought provoking; a film that would open people’s eyes to the devastation that the foreclosure crisis brought to the city I love and call home, and to the incredible resilience the city showed in the face of an economic catastrophe that nearly destroyed it,” said filmmaker John Vourlis. More important, I wanted to tell this story through the eyes of the people at ground zero, the people who were most directly affected by the tidal wave of foreclosures that nearly overwhelmed everyone involved. It’s their stories that compelled me to examine a key historical event in American history from a very personal perspective, and try to bring it home on a visceral, deeply personal level.”
Freestyle Digital Media negotiated the deal to acquire THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR directly with the filmmakers and Sean Pope and Tiffany Boyle of Ramo Law.
THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR trailer (YouTube): www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQBxQwdm2EE
THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR website: www.thehousenextdoordoc.com
About Freestyle Digital Media
The digital distribution unit of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group, Freestyle Digital Media, is a premiere multi- platform distributor with direct partnerships across all major cable, satellite, digital and streaming platforms. Capitalizing on a robust infrastructure, proven track record, and a veteran sales team, Freestyle Digital Media is a true home for independent films. Recent releases include THE ROAD DOG starring comedian Doug Stanhope, SURVIVE starring HBO’s GAME OF THRONES star Sophie Turner and Corey Hawkins, the music documentary profiling blues guitar legends Jimmie Vaughan and Stevie Ray Vaughan, BROTHERS IN BLUES, DEAR ZOE starring Sadie Sink from the hit Netflix series STRANGER THINGS, Jessica Capshaw and Theo Rossi. Other Freestyle Digital Media titles include BEST SUMMER EVER the teen musical featuring a fully integrated cast and crew of people with and without disabilities, produced by Jamie Lee Curtis, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mary Steenburgen and Ted Danson, THE WEDDING YEAR starring Sarah Hyland and Anna Camp, THE LAST PHOTOGRAPH starring Danny Houston, UNTOGETHER starring Jamie Dornan, Jemima Kirke, Ben Mendelsohn, Alice Eve and Billy Crystal, the action-comedy BETTER START RUNNING starring Academy Award-winner Jeremy Irons and Maria Bello, THE BACHELORS starring Academy Award-winner J.K. Simmons, Julie Delpy and Odeya Rush and the award-winning documentary HONDROS produced by Jamie Lee Curtis and Jake Gyllenhaal.
For more information, visit:
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Eric Peterkofsky
Allen Media Group / Freestyle Digital Media
eric@es.tv