Cooked: Survival by Zip Code

Judith Helfand/2018/75 min/Historical Perspectives, Social Justice, Climate Change

FILM DESCRIPTION: Chicago suffered the worst heat disaster in U.S history in 1995, when 739 residents – mostly elderly and black – died over the course of one week. As “Cooked” links the heat wave’s devastation back to the underlying manmade disaster of structural racism, it delves deeply into one of our nation’s biggest growth industries: Disaster Preparedness. Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Judith Helfand uses her signature serious-yet-quirky-style as interlocutor and narrator to forge inextricable connections between the cataclysmic natural disasters we’re willing to see and prepare for, and the slow-motion disasters we’re not.


Director Judith Helfand.

Director Judith Helfand.

Saturday, March 7, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. [West]
Chicago Public Library, Austin Branch, 5615 W. Race,
Auditorium, Chicago

Arrive early as Forty Acres Fresh Market will be there with a produce stand! Bring a bag and shop a generous sampling of their market, where they will have over 35 varieties of fresh fruits and veggies for purchase before and after the film.

Join us after the film for a discussion with the film's director, Judith Helfand, as well as local advocates Orrin Williams of University of Illinois at Chicago and the Center for Urban Transformation (who appears in the film), and Athena Williams, Executive Director of the Oak Park Regional Housing Center and its Invest in Austin program. Learn from the above and other action partners about concrete action opportunities related to the film's topics, as well as from Forty Acres Fresh Market, Counting On Chicago Coalition 2020 Census, Austin Green Team/Austin Garden Collective, BUILD Chicago, and Austin Coming Together. Faciliator: Stephanie McCray, Executive Coach at Executive Material. Refreshments will be available.

Doors open 30 minutes before start time. Arrive early to avoid lines and get best seats. ADA compliant accessible venue. Teens and young adults encouraged to attend. "PG-13" May contain heavy themes, graphic images or language.


Sunday, March 8, 2 to 4 p.m. [South]
Windsor Park Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2619 E. 76th St., Chicago

Stay after the film for a discussion with Oboi Reed of Equiticity and Akousa Gousby of Elevate Energy. Learn about local action opportunities from the above participants, as well as Faith in Place, Ecotellgent Design, The Nature Conservancy and Green Mountain Energy. Facilitator: Al Walker, Property Team Lead/Windsor Park Foundation Board Member, Windsor Park Evangelical Lutheran Church. Refreshments will be available.

Doors open 30 minutes before start time. Arrive early to avoid lines and get best seats. Teens and young adults encouraged to attend. "PG-13" May contain heavy themes, graphic images or language.


Sunday, March 8, 2 to 5 p.m. [Lake County]
St. Joseph Catholic Church, 121 E. Maple Ave.
Koenig Center, Libertyville

Stay for post-film dialogue with Robert Perez of Brad Schneider's office, who will address legislation concerns as well as leaders of environmental groups in Waukegan/North Chicago, who will address their experiences. Learn about solutions-based action opportunities from Lake County Audubon, Lake-to-Prairie Wild Ones, Lake County Sierra Club, Citizens Climate Lobby, Faith in Place, Lake County Green Congregation and HeroPower. Burr Oak saplings will be given to the first 25 attendees. Facilitator: Louise Przywara, St. Joseph Church. Refreshments will be available.

Doors open 30 minutes before start time. Arrive early to avoid lines and get best seats. ADA compliant accessible venue. Teens and young adults encouraged to attend. "PG-13" May contain heavy themes, graphic images or language.


Director Judith Helfand.

Director Judith Helfand.

Sunday, March 8, 2:30 to 5 p.m. [Central]
Old St. Patrick's Church, 625 W. Adams
Fellowship Hall, St., Chicago
(entrance on DesPlaines)


Stay afterwards for video Q&A with Judith Helfand, Director of "Cooked: Survival by Zip Code." Also present for discussion will be Servando Moreno from the United Nations Association Greater Chicago Chapter. Learn about opportunities for local action from the above panelists, as well as from JustRoots, Sinai Community Institute, North Lawndale Community Coordinating Council's (NLCCC) Health and Wellness sub-committee, and Green Mountain Energy. Facilitator: Reesheda Graham Washington, Asset Based Community Development Leader. Refreshments will be available.

Doors open 30 minutes before start time. Arrive early to avoid lines and get best seats. ADA compliant accessible venue. Teens and young adults encouraged to attend. "PG-13" May contain heavy themes, graphic images or language.