America Lost is a feature documentary that explores life in three “forgotten American cities”—Youngstown, Ohio, Memphis, Tennessee, and Stockton, California.

The film reveals the dramatic decline of the American interior through a combination of emotional personal stories and thoughtful conservative commentary. Filmmaker Christopher F. Rufo spent five years gathering these intimate portraits of Americans on the edge, including an ex-steelworker scrapping abandoned homes to survive, a recently incarcerated father trying to rebuild his life, and a single mother dreaming of escaping her blighted urban neighborhood.

Ultimately, despite these grave challenges, the film offers a glimpse of hope for rebuilding America’s families and communities from the bottom up.