The Interrupters
| The Interrupters | |
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The Interrupters theatrical poster
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| Directed by | Steve James |
| Produced by | Steve James Alex Kotlowitz Zak Piper (co-producer) |
| Starring | Ricardo "Cobe" Williams Eddie Bocanegra Ameena Matthews Tio Hardiman Gary Slutkin |
| Music by | Joshua Abrams |
| Cinematography | Steve James |
| Edited by | Steve James Aaron Wickenden |
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Production
company |
Kartemquin Films / Rise Films
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| Distributed by | Cinema Guild (US Theatrical), PBSd (US DVD), Dogwoof (UK) |
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Release date
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Running time
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125 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $282,448 |
The Interrupters is a 2011 documentary film, produced by Kartemquin Films, that tells the story of three violence interrupters who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once employed. It examines a year in which Chicago drew national headlines for violence and murder that plagued the city.
The film features the work of CeaseFire, an initiative of the Chicago Project for Violence Prevention. In 2004, Tio Hardiman (ex-Director of CeaseFire Illinois) created and implemented The Violence Interrupter concept. Violence interrupters Ameena Matthews, Cobe Williams and Eddie Bocanegra look back on their past experiences with street violence to try to steer young men and women in the right direction. Matthews, the daughter of former Chicago gang leader Jeff Fort, comes to the aid of the mother of Derrion Albert, a Chicago high school student whose death made national headlines when it was captured on videotape.
Produced by Kartemquin Films, The Interrupters is directed by Steve James, director of the highly acclaimed documentary, Hoop Dreams, and co-produced by Alex Kotlowitz, author of the award winning book, There Are No Children Here.
The documentary takes place on Chicago's South Side in a myriad of troubled communities. One of the main communities featured is Englewood. Englewood lies approximately 12 miles south of the Loop and began as a home to German and Irish farm and railroad workers.
However, after World War II, Englewood and the South Side of Chicago as a whole became known as the "Black Belt." This is in reference to the predominantly African American population moving to this area. As of the year 2000, 0.6% of Englewood residents are White, while 98.2% are Black or African American. 5.2% of Englewood residents over the age of twenty-five have obtained a bachelor's degree or higher. The unemployment rate of Englewood residents over the age of sixteen is 25.8%.
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