The ever-growing complications that stem from California’s homeless crisis have taken center stage in U.S. media coverage for the past few years. Despite the commitment of several billions of dollars, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported 181,399 unhoused Californians in 2023, representing a shocking 28% of the country’s total homeless population. Though the numbers seem grim, they can only give half of the picture. Director Stacey Stone goes straight to the source and returns with a surprisingly empathetic tale from the streets of Santa Barbara in her 10 minute documentary Kenny.
We follow the journey of a 72-year-old homeless man named Kenny Harris. Kenny, an elderly gentleman with a white bearded face, sits barefoot on the beaches of his city, revealing more about him than meets the eye. His aura and persona captivates, while he brings the audience into his story. Challenging public perception of what homelessness means, Kenny shares his experience living this “nomadic” lifestyle which affords him the freedom he so loves. His firsthand encounters with the notorious California flash floods is a poignant moment in the film. His happy-go-lucky attitude, which he enthusiastically exudes throughout the short, is what propels him forward. He asks for no pity from the public and acknowledges the many struggles that others like him go through without a hint of spite. Despite circumstances, the documentary has a pleasantly optimistic outlook, something director Stone was clearly in tune with when she chose Kenny as the focal point of her story.
Kenny is the odyssey of a man whose life is anything but conventional, and the filmmakers accommodate that with some other creative flourishes, such as rotoscoped animation segments from Kenny’s past and present. These visuals, which are Linklater-esque in presentation, are critical to understanding Kenny’s mindset and helps the film shed light on persistent issues within the homeless community, including the abuse of fentanyl.
Documentaries are all about perspective, and Kenny effectively flips the script on its subject matter, asking a meager ten minutes of its viewers time to share a new perspective on an ongoing American dilemma.