Caron Creighton On Capturing The Fight To Save Northern California’s Largest Homeless Encampment With Her Debut Feature ‘Wood Street’

The Wood Street encampment in Oakland, once Northern California’s largest homeless encampment, was demolished in 2023, displacing an estimated 300 residents. Caron Creighton, a Bay Area-based filmmaker, captured their fight as part of her feature debut Wood Street, which screens this week at the BlackStar Film Festival in Philadelphia. Watch on DeadlineWhen the Wood Street residents received an eviction notice in 2022, Creighton quit her job and began documenting their efforts to stop the eviction. Wood Street runs for around 100 minutes, and it is a sobering watch. The Wood Street residents don’t shy away from Creighton’s camera, and they make for compelling characters on screen.