To celebrate our 50th Anniversary of the Building, the Silverton Grange presented the Oregon Premiere of the new film “The Dream We Choose” and hosted a virtual community discussion on December 6th, 2020.
Thank you to the panelists who were a part of the community discussion: Laurie Simons & Terry Sterrenberg – filmmakers living in New York City Kyle Palmer- Mayor of Silverton, Kelly Hilton-President of Silverton Food Co-op, and Elyce Hues-Sustainable Silverton.
About the Film
THE DREAM WE CHOOSE includes accounts of communities that are transforming their economies, building community wealth, changing the nature of work from survival to contribution, and creating a new and joyful culture.
A new film by Laurie Simons & Terry Sterrenberg
- A very small town almost disappears from the map and then its people step forward and bring it back to life.
- In the crowded streets of a big city where concrete has taken over 70% of the landscape, people are reclaiming patches of land to grow vegetables and build relationships.
- Residents of a city neighborhood are overcoming a food desert by developing local leaders, growing community food systems, and building community-owned wealth.
- The mayor of a rural township takes on a never-before-attempted economic strategy based on “Contribution-ism” to prove that the community can look after its own needs.
This documentary film tells the stories of communities rural and urban, large and small, that are gathering investors, residents and resources and showing us what it takes to co-create sustainable communities and an economy where people are more important than profits.
Taking their economic future into their own hands one neighborhood at a time.
The Filmmakers:
Laurie Simons and Terry Sterrenberg, of Staten Island, New York, are counselors, filmmakers, activists and ordinary citizens who are trying to make a difference as they face the challenges of today’s society. They look around and see poverty, racism, homelessness, violence, war, environmental degradation, species extinction, ocean acidification, nuclear accidents, inequality, criminal injustices and many other tragedies. They believe there has to be a better way.
Formerly Salem residents, Laurie and Terry’s previous films, The Healthcare Movie and NOW IS THE TIME: Healthcare for Everybody, addressed the myths surrounding the idea of universal healthcare. These films have been screened widely throughout Oregon and the U.S.