Whose Streets?

Invited

To watch this account made by the black people who were in Ferguson, Mo., after Michael Brown’s murder is to know what happened there. Activists, neighbors, friends, parents, and artists unite over the loss of an innocent life, in the fight for the right to live. Frank, unhurried, and fearless, this film was made using a camera immersed in the protest alongside the activists. Scenes of police brutality—some caught clearly and audibly on cell phones—alternate with interviews of protestors calling out major news networks for not being there to record these militaristic actions. Footage of former President Obama’s speech (after the reading of officer Darren Wilson’s verdict) asking Ferguson law enforcement officials to maintain care and restraint is intercut with images of police starting to fire on crowds. These powerful and artfully constructed sections of media reportage at odds with activists’ accounts pave the way for several personal stories of activists in Ferguson, and the essential and emotional discussions happening in homes, in workplaces, and out in the community among people of color. Undaunted by the violence and grief, these activists fight hard to tell the real story—for it is no one’s but theirs to tell. KR

Director

Sabaah Folayan

Producers

Sabaah Folayan, Damon Davis, Jennifer MacArthur, Flannery Miller, Chris Renteria

Editor

Christopher McKnabb

Cinematographer

Lucas Alvarado Farrar

Release Year

2017

Festival Year

2017

Country

United States

Run Time

103 minutes

Subtitled

No