The Interrupters (Blu-ray Disc, 2012) PBS and 12 similar items

Factory Sealed Brand New Blu-ray Our SKU TED MEZ 5-13--4oz (INC onal) Award-winning filmmaker Steve James delivers another powerful look at life in urban America with this documentary. As gang violence became more common (and deadly) in the city of Chicago, social workers, activists, and educators founded a group called CeaseFire in 2000 to help curb the tide of aggression. CeaseFire's counselors work with at-risk youth in communities heavily impacted by violence to teach them that there are better ways to resolve personal conflicts than with guns, believing that the biggest problem isn't gangs but the notion of violent retribution so deeply ingrained in their culture. Many of CeaseFire's volunteers have backgrounds in youth gangs and understand all too well the lives of the people they work with, and in The Interrupters James spends a year following a handful of CeaseFire activists as they try to educate teenagers about the true consequences of gun violence one person at a time, sometimes with immediate success, sometimes with frustrating results. The Interrupters received its world premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. The Interrupters tells the moving and often surprising stories of three "Violence Interrupters" - Ameena Matthews, Eddie Bocanegra, and Cobe Williams - who with bravado, humility, and even humor, work to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once employed. From acclaimed director Steve James (Hoop Dreams) and bestselling author Alex Kotlowitz (There Are No Children Here), this film is an unusually intimate journey into the stubborn persistence of violence in our cities. Shot over the course of a year, The Interrupters follows Ameena, Eddie, and Cobe as they attempt to intervene in disputes before they turn violent, including two brothers threatening to shoot each other, an angry teenage girl just home from prison, and a young man on a warpath of revenge. The film captures not only the Interrupters' work, but reveals their own inspired journeys from crime to hope and ultimately redemption. Special Features include? - 56 minutes of deleted scenes and the theatrical trailer This program contains mature content that may not be appropriate for all viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.