In one small stretch of land in south Los Angeles, there is enough history, tragedy, and hope to inform a nation. This area is known as South Central LA, once a hotbed of African American culture but now known to many as simply a war zone.
Applying his distinct storytelling style to explore the history of this neighborhood, filmmaker Stacy Peralta interviews many who have lived there, who have survived, and who try to hold this community together. In this film rich with historical footage, subjects recount their innovation of forming their own "clubs" after being denied participation in the Boy Scouts of America. From the Watts riots to community-inspired activism and the Black Power movement that exploded in the late 1960s, the evolution of this neighborhood is complicated and not easily explained. This is especially true since, after the Black Power movement was systemically squelched by the federal government, a new element arose in the face of oppression: the Crips.
In this broad, historic examination of South Central Los Angeles, the film traces the roots of African American transplants who fled a racist South only to find its more subdued form just as powerful in Southern California. Narrated by Forest Whitaker, who himself was brought up in South Central, the movie relays stories that have gone unnoticed for far too long, stories that are distinctly made in America.
West Los Angeles native Stacy Peralta became a skateboarding world champion by the age of 19, earning product endorsements and TV and film appearances in the process. In 2000, he wrote and directed the critically acclaimed Dogtown and Z-Boys, which won both the documentary Directing Award and Audience Award at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival, as well as the award for best documentary at the Independent Spirit Awards. Peralta’s second feature documentary, Riding Giants, opened the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Showtimes: Nightly at 7:00 & 9:10 Additional Saturday & Sunday matinees at (2:30) & 4:45. U.S.A., 2007, 105 mins, color & b/w.
“A shocking, absorbing and absolutely necessary film” - Salon.com
“It's impossible to look away from the screen” - Variety
OPENS FEBRUARY 20TH