Film Synopsis: Whose Streets?

A visceral portrait of the protest movement that rose up in Ferguson, Missouri, in the aftermath of the killing of yet another unarmed black man – Michael Brown – by a white police officer.

Communal and anger, fuelled by long-standing racial tensions, turned vigils into marches and protests. The National Guard descended on Ferguson with military-grade weaponry, igniting residents’ outrage. While most media outlets focused on the rioting, Whose Streets? charts the journey that turned ordinary citizens into the torchbearers of a new resistance.

Activist Sabaah Folayan’s connection to the burgeoning Black Lives Matter movement invests this vital documentary with a raw urgency. Mixing original footage and interviews as well as cellphone videos, her striking directorial debut pays tribute to the underlying hopefulness that powers the protestors’ impassioned calls to action.

This film was supported by the Bertha / Doc Society Journalism Fund.