Join us at Mohonk Mountain House on Monday, Feb. 6, at 8 p.m., for a sneak preview of Bootstraps, a forthcoming docuseries that investigates the concept of universal basic income (UBI) and the realities and impacts it would have on everyday America. Following a viewing of the hour-long series pilot, filmmakers Deia Schlosberg and Conrad Shaw will lead a discussion and answer questions from the audience.
Bootstraps tells the story of a 2017 experiment to investigate a proposed solution to economic uncertainty in America. Over the course of two and half years, a diverse cross-section of US households received an unconditional monthly income of $1,000 per adult and $333 per child. The series follows eleven households that participated in this groundbreaking basic income trial and captures intimate stories about how a guaranteed payment that covers basic living expenses can free people from fear of homelessness and hunger and inspire them to pursue new things.
Reservations required. Click below to get your free tickets to this public event in the Mohonk Mountain House Parlor.
About the Filmmakers
Deia Schlosberg (co-creator, director, cinematography, editing)
Deia made national news in 2016 when she was arrested and charged with 45 years’ worth of felonies for filming the #ShutItDown pipeline protest in North Dakota. Deia’s directorial debut, The Story of Plastic, (Mill Valley/Discovery) won a 2021 Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Documentary. Previously, Deia produced Josh Fox’s How to Let Go of the World… (2016, Sundance/HBO) and co-produced Awake, a Dream from Standing Rock (2017, Tribeca/Netflix) and The Reluctant Radical (2018, PBS). Deia earned an MFA in Science & Natural History Filmmaking at Montana State, where she directed and produced Backyard, which won two student Emmys. She was named one of DOC NYC’s 40 under 40 in 2019, and a Film Independent Fellow in 2020. Deia’s background is in Earth science and visual communications, as well as expeditioning, having been awarded a 2009 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year award for a two-year, 7800-mile through-hike of the Andes Mountains.
Conrad Shaw (co-creator, UBI trial manager, field producer, writing)
Conrad is a researcher, producer, writer, and activist in the UBI space. He earned a BS from the University of Colorado at Boulder in Mechanical Engineering and gained several years experience as a top secret clearance level stress analyst and design engineer before pursuing a dramatic career shift in 2008, moving to NYC to study filmmaking, writing, and acting. In 2016 he launched into full-time UBI work when he teamed up with his now wife and partner Deia Schlosberg on the Bootstraps project. During his time working on Bootstraps, Conrad also created UBIcalculator.com as a tool for the movement and penned multiple essays on different facets of UBI. Once the UBI program and film production aspects of Bootstraps were complete, Conrad joined the team of www.comingle.us, a startup web platform building an online solidarity community around UBI-style mutual aid, as a co-founder.