Whose Streets?

After a white police officer shot and killed the unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, the mainstream media were quick to frame the resulting protests as riots. This gripping reconstruction of the events after the shooting plainly chooses the perspective of the black community—sometimes literally by using the film material and Twitter messages of witnesses and participants. The result is a very different kind of story. Suddenly, you feel the frustration of the black residents as they talk about racism and police violence. The demonstrators wanted answers and to express their sadness and anger, only to face an aggressive and repressive response. People standing in their own yards are ordered to go home before being hit by teargas. After a few days, the National Guard is called in and Ferguson transforms into a police state. Whose Streets? closely follows various activists, some more experienced and militant than others. It also captures local resistance growing into a national protest movement.