COUPER WAS HERE

Wednesday, June 9, 2021

— A virtual screening and Q&A with Couper and Nicole Foley, Director! —

COUPER WAS HERE is about an unhoused San Francisco resident, Couper Orona. She was a firefighter, injured on the job, and now lives with disabilities. She supports herself on a small monthly disability check. After her injury and a divorce, she could no longer afford an apartment in the Bay Area, and subsequently found herself living on the street. She uses the skills she practiced as a firefighter to assist fellow encampment residents who don’t seek medical help from hospitals for a variety of reasons, such as feeling shamed or mistreated by hospital staff. “I feel I have a purpose on the street and want to do my part to help out friends and others who don’t have a roof or access to first aid services.” This film follows Couper in her caring for fellow unhoused San Franciscans, and in her quest to find permanent housing in the city.

NICOLE FOLEY
Director, Executive Producer

Bernal resident, Nicole Foley, is a Creative Strategist who works on storytelling, brand strategy, design, and video to help mission-based startups and corporations articulate their purpose beyond the bottom line and achieve their growth goals. She uses a variety of tools to unite a brand’s tribe—film is her favorite. For the last several years, she has created videos for non-profits, start-ups and corporations. Her love of documentaries and increasing focus on social justice issues led her to work on topics closer to her heart, such as inequity, transformation, and the resilience of the human spirit. She studied Psychology at Fordham University, and earned a Master’s degree in Anthropology at the University of Chicago.