A SUNY New Paltz professor is working on a documentary about formerly incarcerated mothers in New York and their challenges in reentry and finding affordable housing. WAMC’s Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Allison Dunne spoke with filmmaker Megan Sperry about “Beyond Shelter.”
Sperry, a Kingston resident, is working on the feature-length documentary. She got the idea for it while working on her first film, “The Domino Effect.” That 2012 film is about the gentrification of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and the rezoning of the former Domino Sugar Refinery to accommodate luxury condos with a small percentage of affordable housing. And she saw affordable housing for formerly incarcerated women as a topic worth exploring in another film, given the mothers’ difficulties in reentry, becoming reunited with their children and limited access to resources.
Sperry’s first film, “The Domino Effect,” continues to serve as a teaching tool for universities and social justice organizations across the U.S. Again, her film currently in production is called “Beyond Shelter.”