2008 Woodie Awards
Film sticks it to (money) man
KAYLA CHRISTOPHERSON
Culture Coordinator
Issue date: 10/9/08 Section: Culture
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Take a break from the crisis and prepare to watch a pseudo-inspirational economic tale. Dead Eight, the Boise State student film club, will host a screening of a new documentary, "Overdrawn," Saturday, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m. in the Hatch Ballroom of the Student Union Building.
The film offers an interesting and personal look into the life of filmmaker Karney Hatch as he deals with the consequences of overspending on an already financially stringent budget.
A Northern Idaho native, Hatch grew up in Lewiston and attended film school in Portland Ore. In 2006 while back in Idaho taking care of his grandparents, Hatch received a piece of mail that changed the trajectory of his film career.
"I received an overdraft fee of $140 for purchases of $65," Hatch said. He was infuriated and the film project began.
"Overdrawn" investigates the lending practices of the major national banks, focusing on the fees they implement for withdrawing more money than the account holds.
"This is a huge problem," Hatch said. "Banks are making tens of billions of dollars every year in overdraft charges."
Things to look for in the documentary include interviews with Ralph Nader and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), who has been pushing the Consumer Overdraft Protection Fair Practices bill through the House of Representatives.
The focus of the film eventually moves abroad to analyze the consumer revolution at work in Britain.
Anticipation for the film's screening is heightened given the timeliness of our economic downturn.
"It's a strange irony," Hatch said. "The worse the economy gets the more people are interested in seeing the movie."
If nothing else, Hatch hopes to educate viewers about their rights in the banking system.
"When you open up a checking account, the bank automatically places you in an Overdraft Protection Program. They glaze over the details, but they place you there. All you have to do to get out of the program is call your bank and tell them you don't want to be in the plan and they will remove you. If we start a trend of people doing that it will send a message to the banks about how we feel about overdraft fees," Hatch said.
As an advocate for good, Hatch created the film to educate and guide citizens of the United States through an economically wayward period.
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