1.5 Million Documentary | Free Public Screening | Hostos Community College

"1.5 Million" a documentary film by Bronx native filmmaker Gregory Hernandez of Green Canvas Productions! Join us on September 27th for a free community screening of this timely documentary film at Fordham University and stay with us until the end for a Q&A with the Director, Gregory Hernandez as well as key collaborators in the documentary: Anthony Tassi & Latanya DeVahaughn. Doors open at 5:30pm. Screening begins at 6:00pm (Subtitles in Spanish) Post Screening Q & A at 7:30pm Synopsis: 1.5 Million explores the political and economic forces that have brought about this literacy crisis in The Bronx, specifically, District 7 which is located in the south Bronx. With a lack of school libraries, classroom libraries, books within the community, bookstores, robust marketing by the NYPL in The Bronx and decades of divestment to education, a literacy crisis has come to fruition in The Bronx. Born from the stereotypes that people in The Bronx do not read and are only known for having interests in sneaker and liquor stores; it is not by coincidence that access to literature has a profound effect on the culture of reading. As of 2016, only 56% of high school graduates in The Bronx are college ready. Poverty is a major factor, with 40% of children in the South Bronx living below the poverty line. A child raised in poverty is 13 times less likely to finish high school on time, if at all. 70 percent of third grade students in The South Bronx are unable to read at their grade level. The New York City Department of Education has found that children who fail to meet the third grade benchmark are more likely to drop out of high school and remain in poverty. The South Bronx has the poorest congressional districts in the nation and has the most unemployed, according to a 2016 report by South Bronx Rising Together (SBRT) Director's Statement: The title of the film is derived from the estimated population total of the Bronx as of 2019, which is 1.5 Million. During the first two years of production, there were zero bookstores in operation in The Bronx, making it the only borough within New York City to have this dubious honor. Filmed over four years, 1.5 Million brings us The Bronx from 1997 when the borough had only two bookstores, to 2019 when the borough was without a single chain or independent bookstore, until the opening of The Lit Bar. Since then, more bookstore ventures have launched. In addition to bookstores, The Bronx went from having only two little free libraries in 2018 to over twenty-five in operation as of 2022. The NYPL has increased its marketing and accessibility initiative by re-launching its Book Mobile program in 2019. I wanted to make this film because I believe this is a film that needs to be made and seen. I’m from The Bronx and have a personal stake in leveraging my skills as a filmmaker to improve my immediate surroundings. This literacy crisis can be ended within a generation if the necessary steps are taken. First and foremost, this documentary has a goal to bring this crisis to the NYS legislative agenda and the national agenda. In 2014, I was looking for a bookstore for a short scene in a film I was directing and I could not find any bookstore near me. I remember being upset, yet strangely not surprised. I wanted to leave this borough for California, yet two years later, I heard that The Bronx was in jeopardy of losing its last bookstore. When I read about Noelle Santos’ move to bring a bookstore, I knew right at the moment, this needs to be a documentary. Get in touch with Gregory and his team: Website: [hidden] Email: [hidden] Social Media: 1.5million_documentary/ Trailer: [hidden] More Info below.