The Public – Vernon Towne Cinema

On July 15^th the Okanagan Screen Arts Society will be showing The Public at the Vernon Towne Cinema.

This film is written and directed by Emilio Estevez who also plays the role of librarian, Stuart Goodson. Estevez obtained his inspiration for his film from an essay written by a former librarian named Chip Ward. The essay captivated Estevez so entirely that he vowed to make this the subject of his next movie.

Other well-known actors Alec Baldwin, Taylor Schilling, and Christian Slater are also starring in this emotional and impactful film about a standoff between the police and the homeless people in Cincinnati when the homeless take over the public library to seek shelter from the bitter cold after learning that emergency shelters are at full capacity.

The library is turned into a homeless shelter for the night and what begins as a nonviolent sit-in act of civil disobedience rapidly escalates into something much more serious with the arrival of local riot police led by crisis negotiator, Alec Baldwin, and a politically ambitious district attorney, Christian Slater, who is running for mayor. The two librarians, Emilio Estevez and Jena Malone, find themselves caught in the middle of this conflict as they had built emotional connections with their regular library patrons and so felt a sense of obligation to care for them.