Maxed Out

Filmmaker James Scurlock will participate in a Q&A after the prime evening screening on Friday, March 9th.

Every year the financial industry issues trillions of dollars in credit-to let Americans buy what ever they want-with the hope they won't pay it back. Equal parts exposé and call to arms, MAXED OUT criss-crosses the country unearthing the stories behind the credit cards and revealing shocking secrets of the modern financial industry. For example, among credit card companies, suggestive selling is the most sought-after skill; the best customers are broke.

MAXED OUT slices into the American financial landscape, revealing alarming statistics and heart-rending testimonies. In a journey through the deep south, an investigative journalist explains why the world's largest banks are trolling the backwoods for profits. At Universities, large credit card issuers pay millions for students' personal information, setting the kids up for ruin.
Meanwhile, the collection business has become like the Wild West where young men make fortunes off of the misfortune of others. All it takes is a high-speed Internet connection, a telephone and a competitive spirit. Nine out of ten credit reports contain negative errors, but it's not in the industry's interest to correct them. Nor is it likely the politicians will take action. The credit industry's lobbyists now not only write legislation but have succeeded in eliminating fundamental rights.

MAXED OUT exposes the modern debt-style in all of its absurdities and contradictions. Nowhere are these more evident than in a journey with award-winning investigative journalist Mike Hudson, who travels to Mississippi, Pittsburgh, and New York City interviewing the victims of predatory lending scams. The most shocking discovery? The predators aren't boiler rooms or goodfellas. They are the nation's largest and most respected financial institutions! By turns hilarious and deeply disturbing, Maxed Out forces us to face the consequences of a national debt addiction that is silently destroying the American dream.