West 47th Street (2001)

• 69%
• 2001
• Documentary
• June Peoples
• Bill Lichtenstein

Life on the streets of New York City for the poor and homeless is an unforgiving struggle. For those who also battle mental illness, it is marked by the additional pressures of fear, isolation and misunderstanding. "West 47th Street," a remarkable new film, takes its cameras into the heart of the struggle as it rejects the invisibility of the mentally ill who inhabit America's urban streets. Filmed over three years at Fountain House, a renowned 50-year-old rehabilitation center in New York, West 47th Street reveals the human face of mental illness — and the faith and courage with which its victims fight to recover control of their lives.