We Are Alive! The Fight to Save Braddock Hospital

Feb 16, 2014

(Tony Buba, Tom Dubesnky, United States, 2013, 95 min)

Visiting filmmaker Tony Buba!

Tony Buba is, according to Anthology Film Archives, “One of the most singular, and egregiously overlooked, filmmakers in the U.S. . .a national treasure, the prime representative of the blue-collar, populist, politically committed yet outrageously entertaining American filmmaking movement that’s largely missing-in-action.” For the past 40 years, Tony’s working class focus and humorously experimental approach have chronicled the trials and tribulations of the working people in his hometown of Braddock, Pennsylvania. 

We Are Alive! The Fight To Save Braddock Hospital chronicles a small town’s fight for quality healthcare for all. The residents from Braddock, Pennsylvania waged war against the ten billion dollar non-profit/medical corporate giant University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to keep their community hospital open. Home to a YMCA, a chapel and the town's only restaurant, the hospital employed 630 people, and its emergency room served over 25,000 patients a year. Winner of the Studs Terkel Award for Media and Journalism. Screens with Mill Hunk Herald (13 min), a short film featuring a Springsteen-esque rockout—on an accordion. 

We Are Alive Trailer from Tony Buba on Vimeo.

<Back to Calendar