‘America’s Burning’: Valley Native Brings Film to Area to Sow Hope

A new documentary looks at the rapid shrinking of the middle class and the fading belief among many that they will ever achieve the American dream of home ownership and financial security.

But the filmmakers’ goal isn’t to take sides or be prophets of doom. Rather, they hope to get a conversation started that could lead to solutions.

“America’s Burning” is being rolled out city by city, with screenings followed by question-and-answer sessions with the filmmakers.

The 84-minute film will be screened at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 14, at Regal Boulevard Centre Cinemas in Niles.

The film is narrated by Hollywood star Michael Douglas and includes interviews with political strategists and thinkers, including James Carville, Leon Panetta, James Baker, Ian Bremmer and Amy Chua.

It was produced by Ian Michaels, an Austintown native. Michaels will take part in a Q&A session after the screening that will be moderated by Valley-based filmmaker and podcaster Johnny Chechitelli.

Michaels and Chechitelli are both graduates of Austintown Fitch High School. In addition to owning Amazing Podcast Co., Chechitelli is also the director of marketing and communication for Eastwood Mall.

Michaels, along with “America’s Burning” writer and director David Smick, want the documentary to begin the process of reuniting the country.

He stressed that while the film acknowledges the role of politics in the nation’s problems, it does not take sides and is not political.

“It’s more economy based, but we do talk about politics,” Michaels said. “I don’t consider it a political film. It is centrist. We do not point a finger at any politician. We say it’s for the 70 to 80% of the country that hasn’t lost its mind and has empathy for those across the aisle, those who want to have a conversation. You lose your audience when you [take political sides], and our goal is to get people to talk.”

The title, he points out, has a double meaning.

“We called it ‘America’s Burning’ because it’s also burning with a desire to return to the American dream, and to stop the division and hate,” Michaels said. “It’s hopeful, and it presents solutions.”

The three paths forward that the film proposes are “pretty great,” Michaels said. “But we’re not saying they’re the only three,” he quickly adds. “We want to open a dialog. I want people smarter than me to watch the film and present their solutions.”

Michaels, who lives in Los Angeles, has well over a dozen films under his belt as a producer, but “America’s Burning” is only his second documentary.

The first documentary, “Stars and Strife” (2020), was also written and directed by Smick. It examined the rise of anger and hate in American culture.

Released during the pandemic, “Stars” never gained much traction among audiences. When Smick approached Michaels to make a second documentary, the two decided to take a different approach.

The result is “America’s Burning.”

Smick is “a fascinating guy,” Michaels said.

“He is one of the best macroeconomists in the world,” and he wanted to revisit the film to make a bigger impact.

Smick is the author of “The World Is Curved,” which predicted the 2008 recession.

“We decided to lean into what David knows, which is the economy, and a light went on for both of us,” Michaels continued. “We started talking about it from a middle-class perspective. He is from Baltimore, and I am from Youngstown, two working class cities, and we can see how difficult it is [for working people].”

They focused the film on the disappearance of the middle class and how the American dream has not fully returned.

“When I was growing up, I was told you can do whatever you put your mind to,” Michaels said. “That has disappeared, and I’m not sure if we can get it back.”

Because they knew of actor Michael Douglas’ interest in the subject matter, the filmmakers approached him to serve as narrator. Douglas agreed, and he and famed filmmaker Barry Levinson also signed on as executive producers of the documentary.

A Tough Sell

Documentaries are a different animal in the film world, Michaels said. Getting them before a large audience requires more legwork because film distributors are mainly interested in biographical or animal documentaries.

That’s why he and Smick have been hopscotching the country, doing screenings and Q&A sessions.

“For anything like a ‘speaking truth to power’ doc, you have to fight tooth and nail to get people to watch it,” he said. “It’s an uphill battle. None of the on-demand platforms have the guts to jump in. It’s a sad reflection of where we’re at as a society. People are looking to veg out and enjoy light fare rather than something that is challenging and a call to action, like our film.”

Documentaries used to regularly get theatrical releases before the pandemic, but that is no longer the case, Michaels said.

Fortunately, the film’s distributor, Abramorama, was able to secure a series of special-event screenings at Regal Cinemas – including the Niles event Monday.

It’s a grassroots approach that is designed to gain momentum over a longer period of time, Michaels said.

After attending Youngstown State University for a year, Michaels transferred to Loyola University of Chicago, where he majored in theater. He moved to Los Angeles after graduating to pursue a career as an actor.

Michaels eventually realized that his strength was in writing. He started making his own films, and later branched into producing others’ work.

He describes the producer’s role as being similar to that of a general contractor on a construction job. “You are managing time and money and are responsible for delivering the product,” he said.

Pictured at top: A scene from “America’s Burning.”

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.