AUSTIN, Texas — Thousands of people, at this very point in time, have no place to call home. Statistics show that more than half a million Americans are homeless. A 2023 study ranks Texas fifth in the nation for homelessness.

A pair of filmmakers, Austin native Lenny Barszap and Aaron Brown, hope to advance discussions about homelessness by taking it to the screen with “Home Free.” It's a comedy-drama inspired by their time at the University of Texas at Austin that aims to humanize people who experience homelessness.

In 1997, Barszap and Brown were sophomores at UT and shared a home together near campus. They became acquainted with a man who lived in a park that was down the block from them. People in his community would refer to him as “The Professor,” as he used to be one at UT. They said he chose that lifestyle for a more simplistic way of living.

As a thunderstorm hit Texas, Barszap and Brown let “The Professor” take shelter on their big porch and later their couch. The film depicts their experience in taking him in while also recreating some of their college highlights at UT. Having been students there, the two said it was important to capture an accurate portrayal of their college experience.

“When we eventually (after over a semester of living together) had to tell ‘The Professor’ that we couldn’t keep doing this and we felt terrible putting him back out on the streets, he simply said, ‘Don’t feel terrible. Feel good that you did something and just go out in the world and keep doing good,’” Barszap and Brown wrote to Spectrum News. “This experience at 19 years old had a profound impact on us and this message felt like an important one to put out in the world right now.”

They’ve carried the milestone event into their profession and continue to be advocates for the unhoused. Barszap and Brown believe the matter of homelessness is the next social movement in rotation.

“This issue is one where there is nearly unanimous agreement that it is unacceptable to have people sleeping unsheltered and living in third world conditions on the streets in the richest country in the world. However, how we address and solve this issue is where people are diametrically opposed,” the two explained.

With how distressing homelessness can be, Barszap and Brown thought that lacing their story with humor and light-heartedness would help people better digest the message. “No one wants to watch a movie about homelessness. So that is why we made a silly, carefree, coming-of-age college comedy because we all need to laugh right now and then we can subtly Trojan horse a simple message at the end that humanizes this issue and asks people to care.”

“Home Free” will have its homecoming premiere at the Austin Film Festival on Oct. 27. Back in 2019, they showcased their first short film at the festival and it gave them a great boost in confidence. They feel this movie is Austin through and through, and are excited for the city premiere at AFF.

The film has garnered some praise and positive reception at earlier showings. Director and film producer Kevin Smith, best known for “Clerks,” called the film “the most important comedy you’ll see this year!"

So far, Barszap and Brown are very pleased with how people are reacting to “Home Fee.” They’re hopeful the success of the film will grant them with the funds to finance the construction of homes for people suffering through homelessness in their community.

“The reception so far has been incredible. We’re getting a ton of laughs and even tears and having great conversations afterward in Q&As and in theater lobbies. But, we really want this conversation to spread across the country and to do that we need to light a fire under this film to get the awareness out there. Our measure of success is in impact.”

The film’s soundtrack has great local influence from Austin’s music scene. Texan Adrian Quesada of Black Pumas was a friend of Barszap and Brown in college, so they called on him to produce a soundtrack that reflected the '90s. They were pleasantly surprised by the amount of people that were interested in contributing because of the cause.

“Our soundtrack features Mix Master Mike (Beastie Boys), J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr), Fatlip & SlimKid3 (The Pharcyde), Akil (Jurassic 5), Luscious Jackson, Ghostland Observatory, White Denim, Sabrina Ellis, Buffalo Hunt, Benji Hughes, Neal Francis, Skerik, Steven Bernstein, Karl Denson and more,” shared Barszap and Brown.

Ten percent of the film’s profit will be shared with Austin nonprofit The Other Ones Foundation. After the festival, they’ll be joining the organization to host “Been There 2” music festival on Nov. 11 at The Esperanza Community, a past 200-tent homeless Austin encampment that is now undergoing transformation into a small housing community.

Barszap and Brown produced the first “Been There” festival in 2019. This time around, they’ll have The Pharcyde with Brownout, Nikki Glaspie (former drummer for Beyoncé), HeartByrne (Talking Heads tribute band) and more.

Watch the "Home Free" trailer below: