True crime and the criminal justice Seeking justice in a flawed system. A man on death row survives Seven Dates With Death (USA, 11 min., Mike Holland). A day in the life of four electronic monitoring devices, whose wearers enjoy (Almost) Freedom (USA, 8 min., Puck Lo). 15-year-old Robert (USA, 8 min., Sarah Fleming, and […]
Finding oneself in and out of the criminal justice system. In Austin, Texas, Breaion King, a 26 year-old African-American school teacher is stopped for a routine traffic violation that escalates into a dramatic arrest. Caught on police dashcams, Traffic Stop (USA, 30 min., Kate Davis) reveals Breaion being pulled from her car by the arresting officer, repeatedly thrown […]
Cleveland’s Edwins restaurant offers world-class French cuisine to patrons and the opportunity to learn Knife Skills for a staff comprised almost entirely of formerly incarcerated men and women seeking a second chance — much like the restaurant’s founder. Anthony Bourdain calls this film “compelling, funny, heartbreaking and thoroughly human.”
A young man who is incarcerated at the Shelby County Division of Corrections shares his story. He was transferred to criminal court at the age of 15, and he has spent the past four years in adult detention centers as a youthful offender.
2017 SHORT DOCUMENTARY WINNER Traffic Stop tells the story of Breaion King, a 26 year-old African-American school teacher from Austin, Texas who is stopped for a routine traffic violation that escalates into a dramatic arrest. Caught on police dashcams, Breaion is pulled from her car by the arresting officer, repeatedly thrown to the ground, and handcuffed. En route […]
NYC PREMIERE In 1967, Detroit’s mostly white police department was known for its harsh treatment of black citizens. When police raided an after hours party at the intersection of 12th Street and Clairmount, the streets erupted in what’s been called a riot by some, a rebellion by others. It lasted five days and left 43 […]
Abacus Federal Savings Bank is a modest institution of New York’s Chinatown that came under harsh prosecution in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. While other banks were considered ‘too big to fail,’ Abacus was ‘small enough to jail.’ Filmmaker Steve James (Hoop Dreams) follows the bank’s founder Thomas Sung and his family as […]
Actress Sonja Sohn was unforgettable in HBO’s The Wire as Detective Kima Greggs. Now she takes on the role of documentary filmmaker to explore contemporary Baltimore. Set in the tense period after Freddie Gray was killed while in police custody, Baltimore Rising follows activists, police officers, community leaders and gang affiliates struggling to hold Baltimore […]
WORLD PREMIERE In the early 1900s, an African-American man named Reverend M.J. Divine began a religious movement that would reach over a million followers at its peak, crossing racial divisions and advocating for gender and economic equality. Despite his influence and achievements, Father Divine is little remembered today, dismissed by detractors as a con man […]
Director and cinematographer Peter Nicks (The Waiting Room) embeds with the Oakland police force for two years during a time of upheaval. The film covers officers on patrol as well as the chief tasked with overhauling a criticized and demoralized force. We witness the difficult work both on the ground and in the upper echelons […]