Synopsis
The Interrupters tells the moving and surprising story of three dedicated individuals who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they, themselves once employed. These "violence interrupters" (their job title) — who have credibility on the street because of their own personal histories — intervene in conflicts before the incidents explode into violence.
A word from Tënk
¨The Interrupters¨, of the direct cinema genre, is punctuated with fascinating interviews that retrace the voluntary work of former prison inmates or delinquents who have joined forces in an attempt to curb violence in the Chicago ghettos. From encounters to interventions, they defy the fury that reigns amidst families and districts. A woman, married to an Imam, forcefully leads them in their crusade. Her conversations with her rebellious daughter are poignant. It is a genuine political lesson to listen to and to see the efforts of these ‘interruptors’ who, exhausted by their own experience of prison and misery, manage to ‘do something’ within their community. Thanks to ‘Hoop Dreams’, Steve James earns their trust and can film the violent incidents that those he is following endeavour to resolve. And it becomes clear that the murders and the outbursts target the inhabitants of the black districts, but never the white, those who organised segregation and poverty.
Claire Simon
Filmmaker
