First Look at the Finished Series (at BIEN Congress)!
Join us in Toronto for a docuseries sneak peek and a celebration ten years in the making.
Ten years in the making, the moment is finally here: a first look at Bootstraps, a groundbreaking documentary series by Emmy-winning filmmaker Deia Schlosberg that followed eleven households through a multi-year basic income experiment.
Whether you’ve been with us since the beginning or just joining us now, we want to celebrate how far we’ve come with the project and look forward to what the future has in store.
Event Details
If you are attending BIEN Congress or in Toronto, join us!
When: Saturday, August 22, 2026
Time: Doors open at 6:00 PM | Screening begins at 6:45 PM
Where: Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema (506 Bloor Street West, Toronto)
Admission: FREE (Food & drinks provided) — Seats are limited! Be sure to grab your ticket below so you don't miss out.
Afterparty: When the cinema closes, the celebration will continue at a nearby pub!
Come for a fun night of cinema and great opportunities to connect with others.
Introducing You to the Partners
This special sneak peek is possible thanks to our incredible partners driving the basic income movement forward:
Pale Blue Dot Media — an independent media company led by director Deia Schlosberg, focused on high-impact storytelling that tackles critical social and environmental issues
ITSA Foundation — a non-profit supporting ambitious projects that build a foundation of unconditional universal basic income through research, media, and practical initiatives
Comingle — a public-benefit project cofounded by Josh Worth and Conrad Shaw that enables members to pool resources and form a community-funded basic income floor
UBI Works — a Canadian advocacy organization mobilizing public and political support to make guaranteed basic income a reality across Canada
BIEN (Basic Income Earth Network) — the world’s leading international network connecting researchers, policymakers, and activists advancing basic income globally
Basic Income Canada Network — Canada’s non-profit network dedicated to designing and implementing a basic income to eradicate poverty and promote equity
We will share more about each of these organizations and the impactful work they’re doing in future posts.
Can’t Make It to Toronto?
Don’t worry! We are planning future in-person screenings in other cities and online spaces to gather and discuss the human experience of UBI.
Here’s how you can stay involved from anywhere:
Spread the word: Know someone in or around Toronto who would love to attend? Forward this post to them and share the event link to help us fill the cinema!
Subscribe to this Substack: Make sure you’re subscribed to receive future screening dates, announcements, event recaps, and articles exploring the human experience of UBI straight to your inbox.
I just listened to a podcast yesterday with Andrew Yang talking about UBI. If anything, the need for this kind of intervention has only increased since the idea first burst onto the scene, just as its most fervent advocates have predicted.
It'll be great to have a visual element to the story so more people can understand how UBI works and WHY it works. Looking forward to seeing Bootstraps take off!