DOCUMENTARY SHORT PRODUCED AS PART OF 'ANYTOWN, USA' PROJECT AT DUKE UNIVERSITY'S CENTER FOR DOCUMENTARY STUDIES
Bird In Hand/Más Vale Pájaro en Mano Que Cien Volando (2015)
The wrecked economy of Robbins isn’t going to be easy to revive. The town has only 1,000 residents, but it’s managed to lose more than 1,200 jobs over the last few decades. The water plant is closed, the downtown buildings mostly empty, and the mill that once formed the backdrop for much of Robbins life lies in a heap of bricks and burned timbers that the town can’t afford to clean up. Anchoring the mostly empty northern end of a county famous for the golf resorts and million-dollar homes located 26 miles to the south, the town is invisible to government planners. If the residents of Robbins want to bring the town back, they’ll have to do it themselves.