TWO BLACK MEN A WEEK // Julie Lotz & Jean-Charles Guichard // FRANCE-USA // Running Time 49min // Documentary // WATCH TRAILER
Ferguson, Charleston, Baltimore, Staten Island… These four cities became the symbol of tragedies that led to an unprecedented uprise across the United States. This is where Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Walter Scott and Eric Garner got killed by police. They were four black males. None of them carried a gun, but all of them died because of the police. And they’re not the only ones…
Last year, more than 200 unarmed black men were killed by police. Every week, almost two people are killed by the police in the US. Half of them are black. We investigated months, with a simple question in mind : why?
In the most developed country of the world and the richest nation, why do police kill so many unarmed people. Why are black people overwhelmingly targeted by police?
We traveled the country, contacted more than a hundred police departments. None of them wanted to be filmed or interviewed. One accepted our TV crew. In Pittsburgh, PA, we were able to film the daily work of the police, we investigated their training and found incredibly shocking trainings, where violence is the only motto.
We spent days with the black community, in neighborhoods where people are so afraid of the police that kids have classes about how to behave with police. The simple idea of a police encounter terrifies them. Places where distrust between police and the community have come to a point of no return.
This documentary will take you from New-York to Selma, through an in-depth investigation of US Police. How do they train, how do they work and what are they trained to do. In this documentary, you’ll hear the incredible story of a man that almost died under police fire, during a routine trafic stop. You’ll also see that police racism is not a myth. An ex-cop tells us all, and describes the violent racist system he witnessed as a Philadelphia police officer. You’ll also see that there’s still hope. US Police Departments are fighting to get a very expensive training, about implicit bias. They’re booked out, and tour the country with one goal : raise the awareness about police racism and biases, to put an end to this.
ABOUT THE DIRECTORS
Julie Lotz: Julie Lotz is a French journalist, filmmaker and producer based in Brooklyn, NY. She has worked in Paris for the French TV channel M6 for 4 years and works now as a freelancer in the US.
She studied in France (Strasbourg, Lyon and Paris) and in Australia (Sydney), achieved a degree in Politics (Sciences Po Lyon) and obtained a diploma from the Centre de Formation des Journalistes (CFJ, Paris).
Jean Charles Guichard: Jean-Charles Guichard is a video journalist. After studies in law and broadcast journalism in Paris at the Centre de Formation des Journalistes (CFJ), he started to film for french national public TV. He is based in Brooklyn since 2013.
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GLEN'S VILLAGE // Dorian Geiger // USA // Running Time 32min // WATCH TRAILER
SUN October 4 // 4:05PM // Live Stream Public // 195 Morgan Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
SYNOPSIS
Glen Casey was born and raised in a world of drugs and violence. But with the help of counselors, mentors, teachers — and most of all, a mother who never quit on him — he’s now a University of Pennsylvania sophomore. “Glen’s Village” immerses viewers in University City and West Philadelphia. Although only separated by a few blocks — the two neighborhoods are galaxies apart in reality. From selling crack cocaine on the streets in grade nine to attending an Ivy League school, Glen’s journey is filled with bumps, bruises & redemption. The film probes the impact of trauma, particularly in children, an angle explored through the lens of the city’s constantly evolving urban narrative.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Dorian Geiger is a Canadian multimedia journalist and documentary filmmaker based out of Brooklyn, NY. Geiger's work has appeared in The New York Times, VICE, the BBC, The Toronto Star, Asian Geographic, and other international publications. He graduated from Columbia Graduate School of Journalism in 2014.