Three mothers fight to create a family: Mckenzie, a young woman in recovery who became pregnant while living in a tent; Cat, her nomadic mom; and Leslie, the social worker with her own history of addiction, housing insecurity, and losing children to foster care.
The film tracks Mckenzie from her late pregnancy in a Hollywood homeless encampment, through the first year of her daughter’s life and ultimately the fight to recover her child from the custody of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.
With limited support from her own mother, Cat, and her case manager, Leslie, she tries to create a safe home for her daughter. But Mckenzie cannot completely abandon the life and identity she created for herself while living on the streets — the support she feels from her street “family” becomes an irresistible antidote to the complex network of social workers and bureaucracy she encounters while struggling to find her footing in mainstream society.
UPCOMING
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PAST
• Heartland International Film Festival / Oct. 7 and 14, 2023 / Indianapolis
• Dances with Films / June 23, 2023 / Los Angeles
• San Luis Obispo International Film Festival / April 26, 2023 / San Luis Obispo
• Big Sky Documentary Film Festival (World Premiere) / Feb. 24, 2023 / Missoula
Mckenzie
For three generations, Mckenzie’s family has been buffeted by domestic violence, mental illness and homelessness. Mckenzie struggles internally over whether life on the street is simply her lot in life. But she also has a fierce love for her daughter and a passion for art and music that drives her to want to change her life.
Cat
Mckenzie’s mother. She’s a traveler and activist, never staying in any one place for too long. Cat quickly becomes loud and fearsome when she sees injustice. She visits L.A. when Mckenzie needs her, although she says it’s the only place where people see her as a dirty homeless person.
Ann
Mckenzie’s daughter. We see her grow from an image on an ultrasound to a 1-year-old uttering her first words. She rarely fusses or cries, laughs frequently, and lights up when she sees her mom.
Leslie
Mckenzie’s first case manager during her pregnancy. In Leslie Kerr’s own journey of recovery, she did not stop using meth until her late 40s and is committed to helping people in similar circumstances.
Director and producer
Reporter and producer
Photographer
Executive producer
Los Angeles’ housing crisis is the city’s most pressing issue: Hollywood’s Finest reports on it in a way rarely seen. By focusing on the intimacy of the relationships between mothers and daughters, we recognize that homelessness has never been an isolated problem. Through immersive verite and brutally honest interviews, we chronicle some of the most joyful and painful moments of their lives. We tell the story of women at the intersection of our shifting response to our gravest social problems: intergenerational poverty, homelessness, child neglect, mental health, foster care and addiction. We also explore the ways in which people find meaning and connection in their lives, even in the most difficult circumstances. Mckenzie is a talented musician, artist, and fiercely loyal friend and protector of her community.
Our core team developed relationships with her, Cat, and Leslie that were rooted in mutual respect and shared experiences. Our director, Claire Hannah Collins, and McKenzie were the same age; Christina House, our photographer, and McKenzie were pregnant at the same time, and our reporter, Gale Holland, is roughly of Cat’s generation. Executive Producer Erik Himmelsbach-Weinstein was born and raised in Los Angeles by a single mother in Los Angeles, a product of welfare and food stamps.
Our commitment to the story is rooted in our belief in human ingenuity and persistence through hardship, as well as a conviction that understanding the housing crisis will only happen through a holistic lens.
Read the series