Bridge of Hope Presents: The Pursuit of Happyness

 Pricing: Adult – $14 (includes fee); Student – $7 (includes fee)

Bridge of Hope Presents: “The Pursuit of Happyness” – a drama about the real-life struggles and rags to riches story of single father, Chris Gardner.

Nominated for “best performance” by the Golden Globes, Academy Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards among others in 2007, actor Will Smith stars (with his son, Jaden Smith) as struggling, single father, Chris Gardner in San Francisco in 1981. Inspired by a true story, this film captures his financial instability, failed marriage and one year struggle of being homeless with his son while trying to change his circumstances. Salesman Chris Gardner eventually lands an unpaid, yet prestigious internship and he and his son must endure shelter life and hardships in hopes that things will change and they will find a better life.

The New York Times says “Evicted from the main stream and bounced from shelter to shelter, Chris holds firm to his dignity, resolve, faith, love and independence. His optimism sweeps through the film like a searchlight, scattering clouds and dark thoughts to the wind.”

The San Francisco Chronicle says “The great surprise of the story is that it’s not corny. It may have seemed that way from the trailer: Will Smith tells his son, “Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t do something – even me.” But in context, even that moment isn’t cloying. The beauty of the film is its honesty. In its outlines, it’s nothing like the usual success story depicted on screen, in which, after a reasonable interval of disappointment, success arrives wrapped in a ribbon and bow. Instead, this success story follows the pattern most common in life – it chronicles a series of soul-sickening failures and defeats, missed opportunities, sure things didn’t quite happen, all of which are accompanied by a concomitant accretion of barely perceptible victories that gradually amount to something. It other words, it all feels real.”

You can read more about Chris Gardner’s life in the “Pursuit of Happyness” and “Start Where You Are: Life Lessons in Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.”

For those who wish to stay after the film, a panel of local experts on homelessness will take the stage to briefly discuss homelessness, the film, and answer audience questions. Please join us for this inspirational film and discussion.

National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week is November 16-24, 2019. This film screening is the second annual fundraiser for Bridge of Hope Centre County, a local non-profit that helps homeless, single mothers and children. Bridge of Hope Centre County launched in 2007 as local church communities felt the desire to engage in meaningful relationships with families facing homelessness. A three-part relationship between the mother, a neighboring volunteer group from a Christian community, and our case manager support the mother with tangible change in her life; having a home, employment, ending the cycle of poverty for her children and choosing hope.

Please visit our website to learn more:
https://centre.bridgeofhopeinc.org/