Tomato Soup in Skid Row (2021)

Homelessness is a reality that we are constantly reminded of here in Los Angeles. It showcases itself in all its harshness and stridence on so many of our city's streets, screaming for some acknowledgement and understanding. And yet, for most of us, those souls remain mute, distant, like a collection of lost shadows filling the spaces we simply drive by in the safety of our cars. A social pandemic stretching from the last century into nowadays, houselessness remains unsolved and it is worsening by the hour, as confirmed by the sad count of deaths by negligence happening daily among the homeless population. In this context, in the great Italian tradition of Neo Realism, Alexo combines professional actors like Yari Gugliucci, Award winner at Venice Film Festival in 2019, with real every day people from the streets of LA, presenting first hand testimonials of those who have experienced or are still experiencing homelessness. Who better than those directly affected by this plague to tell us their stories of how they ended up on Skid Row? One of the many areas in LA where homeless people form a sort of open air refugee camp. The intention of this project is to raise awareness and change the mainstream rhetoric offered up for years by the current system.