La Salle Junior Releases Feature Length Documentary on Homelessness in Portland

If you’ve heard of La Salle junior Christian Krantz, it’s likely you’ve also heard of his talent with filmmaking. His most recent project, Homefree: PDX, is a feature length documentary that aims to give the viewer a more in-depth perspective on the epidemic of homelessness in Portland. Since its release on May 1st, it has received significant attention in the La Salle community, amassing praise from current students, staff, and alumni.

To get a more comprehensive understanding of his documentary, projects, and interest in film, we asked Krantz several questions about his work.

Q: What inspired you to make such an in-depth documentary?

A: In September I was talking to Max Fajardo in the library and joked, “What if we went downtown and made a documentary where we interviewed homeless people about their life?” Then I watched a documentary on Vimeo called, “Lift the Blindfold” by Michael Wilkens, which inspired me to make my own.

Q: What was your experience interacting with all of the people you interviewed for your documentary?

A: I would be lying if I said I was not a little nervous approaching some of the people I did. I never wrote down any questions to ask people, so I improvised every interview I did…I soon found it was really easy to talk to homeless people.

For example, the first half hour of the first day, Jordan and I went out to scout downtown Portland, a homeless individual asked us for help before we went on to talk to him for 20 minutes about the documentary we were making for school and about his situation, which boosted my confidence for the rest of the interviews. Unfortunately, we never got to officially interview him for the documentary.

The most fun part of the documentary was going on Outreach with Lio Alaalatoa—he is the best person ever and I recommend everyone to go on Outreach with him—he will buy you coffee.

Q: What response have you received so far about the film?

A: The responses have been great. My favorite response is when people tweet at me saying “My mother and I watched this and we are in awe…” or “I showed this to my mom and she cried”, just as a former La Salle student Jordan Luyamba did. I think that is pretty cool.

Q: What effect has the making of this documentary had on you and your outlook on homelessness in Portland/in general?

A: Portland is really an amazing city. Most cities such as Washington DC, Honululu, and most large cities in Texas physically pick up homeless people on the streets like lost dogs and remove them out of the city’s borders. The fact that Portland has embraced the homeless population the way it has is kind of cool, but also has and, as Sasquatch predicts, will create a ton of problems, especially this summer.

Q:  What tips would you have for anyone who wanted to make something similar to your documentary?

A: Just do it. Homeless people are just regular people. Maybe watch a few YouTube tutorials of how to use a microphone and frame an interview. Talk to as many people as you have access to, which is a lot. I reached out to so many people to find connections. For example, I emailed Anna Griffin, the writer for the Oregonian, who referred me to Lio Alaalatoa and JOIN. I also called or emailed many different film academies around Portland asking advice for film festivals or if they had a drone (which they don’t).

Q:  What kind of equipment and software did you use to make the documentary?

A: I have a Canon 70D with the kit lens and a 50mm f1.8 lens as well as a Rode Mic. Also I use Final Cut Pro X for editing.

Q: Is script-writing one of your hobbies? Have you always been interested in film?

A: Script-writing to me is just thinking of something that people would find interesting or entertaining to watch. I made a short film called, “A Night In” last October, and the response to that was really cool too. I started messing around with cameras and iMovie in 4th grade. I made a lot of dumb videos, then in middle school I made several just-ok short films with my cousins. I feel uncomfortable if I’m not working on a script or editing, so… I guess you could say I’m addicted.

Q: Do you have any other films/documentaries in the works?

A: Yes, two. The first is a 2 minute short film that I plan to shoot at the end of summer or the end of this year if time allows. The second is a short add-on to Homefree: PDX where Max Fajardo and I plan to stay 48 hours living on the streets and among the poor people in downtown Portland while documenting it “An Idiot Abroad” style.

A link to Christian Krantz’s documentary, Homefree: PDX, is featured below. Warning: This video contains some explicit language.