Film

 

This documentary exposes the truth behind real estate.

HOMEOWNERS ARE FIGHTING BACK AGAINST UNSAFE CONSTRUCTION.

We set out to create a first-of-its-kind documentary about how neighborhoods across America are getting destroyed by developers, and new construction fueled by greed is affecting communities nationwide.  
With a focus on Philadelphia neighborhoods, our award-winning filmmakers and production experts have uncovered something terrible: residents living in big cities across America are fighting back against construction being done without the proper permits and shady developers.

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“We shouldn’t be afraid to be in our home.”

 

Cutting Corners Official Documentary Trailer

This is the official trailer for Cutting Corners, a documentary about the fight against unsafe construction. Winner of the 2021 Los Angeles Motion Picture Fe…

Between February and August of 2019, six buildings collapsed in the Riverwards section of Philadelphia. The city of brotherly love was under attack by greedy real estate developers. The neighborhoods William Penn founded had no chance of surviving the worst of times. The majority of developers were no longer investing in neighborhoods; their goal is profit and power. Many developers are using scare tactics such as lawsuits, and bullying neighbors to shut up, as well as obvious cover ups.
  In 2016 seen throughout the nation, many developers began cutting corners. Damaging third party homes, building faulty new construction that was rotting from within and manipulating consumers to buy cardboard boxes.
  On June 2018 the City of Philadelphia dedicated a memorial site to the seven people who died, and the fourteen who were injured in the Market street collapse of the Salvation Army Headquarters. No other city has a site that memorializes deaths due to unsafe construction.

GREED IS NOT GOOD

In the Fishtown section of Philadelphia, the greed of developers was becoming insatiable. The neighborhood was filled with developers, builders and realtors. The real neighbors who lived in Fishtown for the love of the community were being forced to live in the wild wild west.

Streets were littered with lead filled construction dust, each block had 1-3 demolitions and unwalkable sidewalks. The only safe time to maneuver the neighborhood was at night.

nationwide epidemic

In February 2019 in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia, a developer dug out a basement in a twin house that compromised the connecting structure. A family’s home of 60 years was no more, that developer collapsed both properties. And it hasn’t stopped there.

While Fishtown began crumbling you could hear the same stories being told in California, New Orleans, New York State, Florida, Ohio, Baltimore, Chicago, Texas, and pretty much every other high profile city being targeted with a construction boom.

Riverwards l&I coalition

The Commissioner of L&I and stakeholders in Fishtown created a coalition. The Riverwards L+I Coalition began making history that quickly spread throughout Philly. This documentary tells their story, and others like them. As homeowners in America, we shouldn’t be afraid to buy or live in a home. The cutting corners has to stop, the greed has to come to an end, and we want our neighborhoods back.

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