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The owner of a long established diner in a changing Brooklyn neighborhood bows to economic pressures and decides to close his restaurant, selling the location to an aggressive developer. It is a typical story in so many increasingly gentrified American cities.
EVERYDAY PEOPLE looks beyond this nondescript transaction into the hearts of the women and men whose lives are forever altered by the deal. Over the course of a long, tense day, the working class and multi-generational staff and customers of Raskins have to grapple with a suddenly cloudy future. Like so many of America's working poor, their lives are at the mercy of forces beyond their control.
As the day unfolds, unspoken thoughts and deep-seated attitudes rise to the surface. These individuals collide in love and pain, generating disturbing conflicts and surprising bonds - all of which challenge conventional assumptions about class and racial identity.
Jim McKay ("Girls Town," "Our Song") has created a beautifully observed and profoundly moving portrait of the United States at the turn of the 21st Century and a love letter to Brooklyn - New York City's most diverse and vibrant borough.
EVERYDAY PEOPLE is executive produced by Nelson George, Sean Daniel, Caldecot Chubb, Jim McKay and Michael Stipe, and produced by Effie T. Brown and Paul Mezey. Written and directed by Jim McKay. Starring Steven Axelrod, Bridget Barkan, Ron Butler, Reg E. Cathey, Jordan Gelber, Billoah Greene, Stephen Henderson, Iris Little-Thomas and Sydnee Stewart.
The film was an official selection at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival and was also selected as the opening night film at the 2004 New Directors / News Films festival at Lincoln Center in New York City.
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