Emmy and Peabody award winning director Marc Levin debuted the official trailer for It’s Basic, his new feature documentary on the movement for guaranteed income, set to World Premiere at the upcoming Tribeca Festival 2023 in the Spotlight Documentary Section.
Marc Levin commented, saying “At a time when we are bombarded by news of economic instability, inflation, debt crisis, drastic cutbacks in social services and fears of more layoffs and recession, here’s a story about a subterranean movement that has grown from one city, Stockton CA. From back in 2018, when we released the documentary Stockton on My Mind, to now over 100 cities actually doing something to improve the lives of their citizens. It’s Basic gives the participants themselves a chance to tell this story.”
How do we combat poverty, economic insecurity, and inequality? This film argues it’s basic – give people money!
The documentary presents case studies and examples from among 100 cities across the United States that are running guaranteed income pilots, and Americans, who are being helped by these programs.
It’s Basic looks at several pilot programs launched in the US that test the effects of giving everyday people an extra $500 to $1,000 monthly, with no strings attached. The film presents what it describes as an unbiased account of the benefits, criticisms, and outcomes of providing unconditional money to people in need, and examines whether Basic Income pilot programs eradicate child poverty and level the racial playing field through community-centric solutions.
With commentary by Michael Tubbs, the founder of Mayors for Guaranteed Income, and interviews with program recipients and participating mayors across the country, the real-life challenges of trying to get by on a daily basis are at the heart of the film.
Watch the official festival trailer for It’s Basic.
Marc Levin is an award-winning, independent filmmaker dedicated to telling powerful, real stories in an authentic style. He has won four Emmys, four duPont-Columbia awards, the Peabody Award, the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, and the Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, among other prominent accolades. Highlights include SLAM, his breakout festival hit film about the impact of the spoken word movement; Brick City, the groundbreaking docu-series about Mayor Cory Booker and the city of Newark, New Jersey; Gang War: Bangin’ in Little Rock and Emmy-winning Thug Life in DC, both for HBO; and Chicagoland, a docu-series for CNN and Sundance Productions, nominated for an IDA award.