Chicago’s controversial CeaseFire organization aims to stop the spread of inner-city violence by sending its members directly onto the streets and into the fray. Steve James and journalist Alex Kotlowitz spent a year filming with the group and following three of its “interrupters,” Ameena, Eddie, and Cobe, as they intervened in volatile, threatening situations. The interrupters draw on lessons learned from their own complicated and troubled pasts to gain access and credibility with members of Chicago’s gang and drug communities, in the process establishing close friendships and offering alternatives to violence to those with little hope of a way out. The Interrupters is a powerful, thoughtful, and head-on look at a domestic war zone and its war heroes. The subjects and the filmmaking are equally inspiring and fearless.  TM

Q&A following screening with filmmaker Steve James and special guest Ameena Matthews