THE WORK IN PROGRESS

OCTOBER 18 - 22

The Work in Progress is a searching portrait of America at a moment of profound uncertainty, and a hopeful exploration of what we owe one another as our country faces unprecedented challenges.

Inspired by Robert Reich’s curiosity and humanity, it is a testament to the power of listening, civic engagement, and the belief that our shared future is still ours to shape. The film begins with Prof. Reich asking: "What do we owe each other?" What follows is a journey to find out.

If you were invited to sit at a table with someone you’ve never met before and answer handwritten questions from a wooden box about the state of America, would you run the other way? The Work in Progress invites strangers from across generations and geographies to engage in candid discussions about America’s ever-evolving democracy, identity, and definitions of community — and where the heck we go from here. Guided by questions posed by Executive Producer Robert Reich, participants sit down in a series of conversations with one another to explore the country they’re living in now and the one they still believe is possible.

These encounters are intercut with portraits of Americans at work — in woodshops, laboratories, fields, board rooms, recording studios, theaters, and beyond. The message is simple but profound: America can work because, in many ways, it’s already working. And a central part of the work ahead is to reclaim the practices of dialogue, debate, compromise, and perhaps most importantly, listening, so that we might find our footing again.

What emerges in The Work in Progress is an unusual and provocative glimpse of America in its 250th year, and an invitation to all Americans to pull up a chair, invite a stranger, and lend an ear.

DOCUMENTARY