The Interrupters Sundance trailer

Watch on PBS 2/14. Order on DVD/Blu-Ray from www.kartemquin.com/store.
http://www.theinterrupters.com

Check out the new trailer! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS5Hjhy1RhM

The Interrupters tells the moving and surprising stories of three Violence Interrupters who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once employed. From acclaimed director Steve James and bestselling author Alex Kotlowitz, this film is an unusually intimate journey into the stubborn, persistence of violence in our cities. Shot over the course of a year out of Kartemquin Films, The Interrupters captures a period in Chicago when it became a national symbol for the violence in our cities. During that period, the city was besieged by high-profile incidents, most notably the brutal beating of Derrion Albert, a Chicago High School student, whose death was caught on videotape.

The film's main subjects work for an innovative organization, CeaseFire, which believes that the spread of violence mimics the spread of infectious diseases, and so the treatment should be similar: go after the most infected, and stop the infection at its source. The singular mission of the "Violence Interrupters" — who have credibility on the streets because of their own personal histories -- is to intervene in conflicts before they explode into violence.

In The Interrupters, Ameena Matthews, whose father is Jeff Fort, one of the city's most notorious gang leaders, was herself a drug ring enforcer. But having children and finding solace in her Muslim faith pulled her off the streets and grounded her. In the wake of Derrion Albert's death, Ameena becomes a close confidante to his mother, and helps her through her grieving. Ameena, who is known among her colleagues for her fearlessness, befriends a feisty teenaged girl who reminds her of herself at that age. The film follows that friendship over the course of many months, as Ameena tries to nudge the troubled girl in the right direction.

Cobe Williams, scarred by his father's murder, was in and out of prison, until he had had enough. His family -- particularly a young son -- helped him find his footing. Cobe disarms others with his humor and his general good nature. His most challenging moment comes when he has to confront a man so bent on revenge that Cobe has to pat him down to make sure he's put away his gun. Like Ameena, he gets deeply involved in the lives of those he encounters, including a teenaged boy just out of prison and a young man from his old neighborhood who's squatting in a foreclosed home.

Eddie Bocanegra is haunted by a murder he committed when he was seventeen. His CeaseFire work is a part of his repentance for what he did. Eddie is most deeply disturbed by the aftereffects of the violence on children, and so he spends much of his time working with younger kids in an effort to both keep them off the streets and to get support to those who need it -- including a 16-year-old girl whose brother died in her arms. Soulful and empathic, Eddie, who learned to paint in prison, teaches art to children, trying to warn them of the debilitating trauma experienced by those touched by the violence.

The Interrupters follows Ameena, Cobe and Eddie as they go about their work, and while doing so reveals their own inspired journeys of hope and redemption. The film attempts to make sense of what CeaseFire's Tio Hardiman calls, simply, "the madness".


Follow @theinterrupters on Twitter and at Facebook/interrupters.

The Interrupters opens July 29 in New York.


To order The Interrupters on DVD or Blu-ray go to http://kartemquin.com/store

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• steve james
• kartemquin
• ktq
• violence
• gangs
• chicago
• englewood
• sundance
• gun violence
• retribution
• Hoop Dreams
• Alex Kotlowitz
• ceasefire
• ceasefire chicago
• frontline
• ITVS
• Rise films
• Sundance 2011
• Chicago gangs
• Ameena Matthews
• Cobe Williams
• Eddie Bocanegra
• Tio Hardiman
• Gary Slutkin
• documentary
• film
• Derrion Albert
• Chicago violence
• illinois
• superhero film

[chasca23]

What I want to know is how Ameena Matthews now makes her daily bread. And the rest of them. This is not a paid job, but they sure spend a lot of time on it. I'm not at all convinced that they're not still part of the circle of drug-related income that is the root of all this evil.

[Kartemquin]

@chasca23 Actually, all Ceasefire interrupters are paid workers (though not paid much considering the danger levels involved), not volunteers. Perhaps you should watch the film, and check your facts, before making such strong allegations about people.

[CenterStage816]

i live in Chicago. it's real. it's sad. Hard to enjoy my life when I know all this heartbreak is live and thriving just miles away from me. i have considered moving. people ask why. i just say Chicago is a sad place. i thank Kartemquin for making this doc. I am a big HoopDreams fan. The power of storytelling

[Kartemquin]

@CenterStage816 Thank you. We're hoping this film's positive message will help change things around. Hope you can see it this August in Chicago.

[Kartemquin]

Follow @theinterrupters on twitter for updates and news of screenings near you!

[smooth8006]

proud of my cuz Cobe....doin his thing

[astrasasha]

when this documentary will be out?can someone tell me where i can find it if its already out?Thank you...

[Daddyknowsbest100]

Worthdieing4, you gotta stop judging like your a fucking hall monitor, and go put your piety to work...goofy fucker...people are dying and you are on that bull shit...when you get to heaven, your gonna get turned back for being egotistical...

[Daddyknowsbest100]

In the Latino community, the appointment of the Ceasefire workers is determined by the political appointments of the non-for-profit agencies, which usually means they are often inneffective and never to be seen, especially on the South West sde. Nothing changes here, just getting worse and 2012 is gonna be real bad.

[WorthDieing4]

Unless a man is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God. No who practices violence will enter the Kingdom of God.

[youshmoob]

Really enjoyed this doc.  Powerful message.

[KelzMon]

flamo is a hero!

[510mrmorgan]

I just watched this film in its entirety. No matter what your option is...it WILL move you to action. Its far too easy to talk about. Watch the film and THEN judge your own character. We lost an interrupter in my city to violence ...this is real. Stop commentating and act.

[Havedy]

that little snippet of the raw video hit me harder than i thought it would... seriously fucked up.