Wednesday, April 4, 2007
by: Christopher Musico

Seton Hall University’s College of Arts & Sciences will hold an exclusive, free screening of the critically-acclaimed documentary Home, a film by Jeffrey M. Togman, Ph.D., associate professor of political science and associate provost for academic administration, on Wednesday, April 18 at 7 p.m. at the South Orange Performing Arts Center in downtown South Orange.  Please RSVP to Beth Cocco in Alumni Relations at (973) 378-9849 or coccoeli@shu.edu by April 13.

Home is a documentary taking viewers through the life of one family’s efforts to escape their dangerous, crime-plagued neighborhood and move into Bergen Estates, an affordable housing development in Newark.  In the documentary, Sheree Farmer is trying to raise her six children alone. With the help of Mary Abernathy, a former fashion industry executive turned community activist, Farmer is struggling to buy her first home and escape her drug-infested, violent Newark neighborhood.  Farmer has to deal with family problems and fight through her own doubts about her ability to own a house. Home challenges how we think about race, class and the American dream of homeownership. Togman said he wanted the film to give a deeper truth about the social world, outside the realm of traditional academia.

“The documentary form allowed me to engage in storytelling that would help folks understand political phenomena,” Togman said.

Home has already received many accolades for its excellence. The documentary premiered on the film festival circuit in 2005 and won a special jury mention at the AFI/Discovery Channel Silverdocs Festival, and also had its theatrical release in September 2006. A wider audience will be able to watch a first-hand account of Newark’s socioeconomic divide when Home is aired on the Sundance Channel and released on DVD by Netflix later this year.

For more information please contact:
Beth Cocco
(973) 378-9849
coccoeli@shu.edu