New Documentary Highlights How Communities Are Reclaiming Closed Schools

A new documentary exploring how Chicago residents are transforming shuttered public schools into spaces of hope and innovation will screen this month in Austin.

Beyond Closure focuses on three former schools — Emmet in Austin, Woods in Englewood, and Overton in Bronzeville — and the neighborhood leaders repurposing them into community centers, arts incubators, healthcare facilities, and affordable housing. The film examines the aftermath of the city’s 2013 mass school closures and the community efforts that have turned those losses into new opportunities.

A community screening of Beyond Closure will take place on Thursday, Oct. 30, at the Kehrein Center for the Arts, 5628 W. Washington Blvd. The evening will include guided tours of the Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation, located in the former Emmet Elementary School building — one of the sites featured in the film — from 4 to 5:30 p.m. The screening and discussion will run from 6 to 9 p.m.

Produced by On the Real Film and Borderless Studio, Beyond Closure captures a decade of grassroots organizing and local resilience in the face of displacement. The documentary follows how residents have worked to reclaim previously vacant spaces and transform them into community-driven hubs.

The event will feature a film screening followed by a panel discussion with community leaders, as well as an interactive storytelling activity where attendees can share personal reflections about the impact of school closures and neighborhood transformation.

Organizers say the screening offers both inspiration and a blueprint for other communities seeking to reclaim public assets for local use.

“This film is about self-determination and what’s possible when residents take the lead,” the event description states.

The Aspire Center for Community Innovation, now home to organizations such as Westside Health Authority, Austin Coming Together, the Jane Addams Resource Corporation, the Freedom Center of Austin, and BMO Bank, represents one of the clearest examples of the change Beyond Closure documents. Once an empty school, Emmet has become a cornerstone of Austin’s ongoing revitalization — providing workforce training, small business support, and community programming. 

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CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly mentioned that the screening is on Wednesday instead of Thursday, Oct. 30. We regret the error. This post has since been updated.