Poverty, Inc. Hope International, a nonprofit composed of Christ followers who fight global poverty, hosts a screening of this award-winning documentary that casts a critical eye on the rise of the West’s multi-billion-dollar poverty industry. From TOMs Shoes to international adoptions, the film poses the uncomfortable question: Could I be part of the problem? There is a post-screening discussion about that and Hope International’s work in Haiti, which a certain U.S. president recently referred to as a “shithole.” We Work Office, 200 Spectrum Center Dr., Irvine; www.hopeinternational.org. Thurs., Feb. 8, 6:30 p.m. Free.
Chinese Couplets. Spanning two centuries, three countries and four generations of women, Felicia Lowe’s intimate documentary explores the impact of America’s Chinese Exclusion era on her family. Lowe participates in an audience Q&A immediately after the screening. Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, Kershaw Auditorium, 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana, (714) 567-3600. Sat., Feb. 17, 1:30 p.m. Free (but does not include museum admission).
Tony—The Movie. Homelessness has become such a hot topic in Orange County that it is now serving as the basis for screenings of films of conscience. Documentarian Dennis Stein follows Tony Rodriguez, who ends up homeless after losing his job as a waiter in San Diego. His search for housing turns into a quest for solutions to homelessness, not just for himself, but for thousands of people living on the streets across San Diego County. Orange Coast River Park Inc., Newport Beach City Arts Commission, Illumination Foundation and Newport Beach Film Festival present the free screening followed by an interactive panel discussion on homelessness featuring Stein, Rodriguez and Paul Leon, president and CEO of Illumination Foundation. Marina Park Community Center, 1600 W. Balboa Blvd., Newport Beach; www.ocriverpark.org or www.newportbeachca.gov. Thurs., Feb. 22, 7 p.m. Free but seating is first come, first served.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.