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The Interrupters

From acclaimed director Steve James and best selling author Kotlowitz, this film is an unusually intimate journey into the stubborn persistence of violence in our cities.

The Interrupters tells the moving and surprising stories of three Violence Interrupters who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once employed. From acclaimed director Steve James and bestselling author Alex Kotlowitz this film is an unusually intimate journey into the stubborn persistence of violence in our cities. Shot over the course of a year out of Kartemquin Films, The Interrupters captures a period in Chicago when it became a national symbol for the violence in our cities. During that period, the city was besieged by high-profile incidents, most notably the brutal beating of Derrion Albert, a Chicago High School student, whose death was caught on videotape.

The film’s main subjects work for an innovative organization, CeaseFire. Founded by an epidemiologist, Gary Slutkin, who believes that the spread of violence mimics the spread of infectious diseases, and so the treatment should be similar, they go after the most infected, and stop the infection at its source. One of the cornerstones of the organization is the “Violence Interrupters” program, created by Tio Hardiman, who heads the program. The Interrupters — who have credibility on the streets because of their own personal histories — intervene in conflicts before they explode into violence.

In The Interrupters, Ameena Matthews, whose father is Jeff Fort, one of the city’s most notorious gang leaders, was herself a drug ring enforcer. But having children and finding solace in her Muslim faith pulled her off the streets and grounded her. In the wake of Derrion Albert’s death, Ameena becomes a close confidante to his mother, and helps her through her grieving. Ameena, who is known among her colleagues for her fearlessness, befriends a feisty teenaged girl who reminds her of herself at that age. The film follows that friendship over the course of many months, as Ameena tries to nudge the troubled girl in the right direction.

Cobe Williams, scarred by his father’s murder, was in and out of prison, until he had had enough. His family – particularly a young son – helped him find his footing. Cobe disarms others with his humor and his general good nature. His most challenging moment comes when he has to confront a man so bent on revenge that Cobe has to pat him down to make sure he’s put away his gun. Like Ameena, he gets deeply involved in the lives of those he encounters, including a teenaged boy just out of prison and a young man from his old neighborhood who’s squatting in a foreclosed home.

Eddie Bocanegra is haunted by a murder he committed when he was seventeen. His CeaseFire work is a part of his repentance for what he did. Eddie is most deeply disturbed by the aftereffects of the violence on children, and so he spends much of his time working with younger kids in an effort to both keep them off the streets and to get support to those who need it – including a 16-year-old girl whose brother died in her arms. Soulful and empathic, Eddie, who learned to paint in prison, teaches art to children, trying to warn them of the debilitating trauma experienced by those touched by the violence.

The Interrupters follows Ameena, Cobe and Eddie as they go about their work, and while doing so reveals their own inspired journeys of hope and redemption. The film attempts to make sense of what CeaseFire’s Tio Hardiman calls, simply, “the madness.”

Filmmakers

Co-Producer & Sound Recordist

Zak Piper

Original Music Composer

Joshua Abrams

Music Supervisor

Linda Cohen

Executive Producers

Justine Nagan
Gordon Quinn
Teddy Leifer
Paul Taylor

Executive Producer for ITVS

Sally Jo Fifer

Vice President of Programming for ITVS

Claire Aguilar

Executive Producer For Frontline

David Fanning

Frontline Executive Producer for Special Projects

Mike Sullivan

Inspired by "Blocking the Transmission of Violence" (New York Times Magazine)

Alex Kotlowitz, Author

Post-Production Supervisor

Aaron Wickenden

Assistant Editor

Nora Gully

Researcher

Emily Hart

Additional Camera

Dana Kupper
Adam Singer
Keith Walker
Zak Piper
Mirko Popadic
Damon Hennessey
Jackson James

Additional Sound Recording

John Mathie
Rich Pooler
Pat Tillman
Alex Kotlowitz

Technical Supervisor

Jim Morrissette

Technical Consultant

Liz Kaar

Transcription

Dylan James
Joe Riina-Ferrie
Aaron McGrath
Lesley Onstott
Brittany Piper
Robby Sexton
Jennifer Wells

Translation

Shelly Hubman
Ian Kibbe
Lauren Makholm

Musicians

Joshua Abrams- Acoustic Bass, Electric Bass, Percussion, Drums, MPC, Piano, Wurlitzer, MS20
Jason Adasiewicz - Marimba, Vibes
David Boykin - Bass Clarinet
Nicole Mitchell - Flute, Alto Flute, Bass Flute
Jeff Parker - Guitar
Tomeka Reid - Cello

Original Music Producers

Joshua Abrams
Neil Strauch

Original Music Mixer

Neil Strauch

High Definition Finish

Nolo Digital Film

Digital Colorist

Michael Matusek

Engineer at Nolo Digital Film

Boris Seagraves

Producer at Nolo Digital Film

Joe Flanagan

Online Edit

Boris Seagraves
Elliot Rudmann

Assistant at Nolo Digital

Elliot Rudmann

Audio Post-Production

Vagabond Audio

Re-Recording Mixer

Drew Weir

Audio Producer

Risé Sanders

Audio Post Assistants

Martine Stebbing
Steven Aguilar
David O’Brie

Titles & Graphics

Dizzy Giant

Graphic Designers

Dan Sharkey
Matt Sharkey

Director of Production for ITVS

Richard O’Connell

Series Senior Producer

Raney Aronson-Rath

Frontline Series Manager

Jim Bracciale

Frontline Contracts Manager

Lisa Sullivan

Production Assistant for RISE Films

John Stack
Manu Pandey

Communications Manager (Kartemquin)

Tim Horsburgh

Kartemquin Bookkeeping (Kartemquin)

Yvonne Afable
Mia Capodilupo
Cate Ryan

Additional Kartemquin Films Staff

Jacinta Banks
Elizabeth Neufeld
Leslie Simmer
Dinesh Sabu
Poster Design
Damon Locks

Poster Typesetting

Sheila Sachs

Still Photography

Aaron Wickenden

Outreach & Civic Engagement

Sonya Childress
L. Anton Seals, Jr.

Legal Council to Kartemquin Films

Holland & Knight LLP
Robert Labate
Jennifer Bjornberg

Legal Council to RISE Films

Olswang, LLP

Fair Use Consultant

Peter Jaszi

Kartemquin Interns

Ethan Barnowsky
Jessica Bradish
Ranjani Chakraborty
Kate Donalek
Michael Foley
LaToya Flowers
Nick Fraccaro
Kevin Fullam
Brett Hanover
John Kostka
Aubyn Niemi
Allison Pichert
Hannah Roodman
Ayesha Siddiqi
Philister Sidigu
Tristan Steinfeld
Emily Thomas
Shuling Yong
Stanzi Vaubel
Cassie Wierenga
Adora Wilson-Eye

Media

Awards and Distinctions

Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award

Winner

Silver Baton

2013

Bright Promises Foundation

Winner

Ed Marciniak Bright Star Award

2013

Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Awards

Winner

Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award

2013

National Society of Television Arts and Sciences Emmy Awards

Winner

Outstanding Informational Prograaming - Long Form

2013

Puma Creative Impact Awards

Finalist

2013

CInema Eye Honors

Winner

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking; Best Direction

2012

Documentary Edge Festival (New Zealand)

Winner

Best Documentary; Best Director; World Cinema Award

2012

Independent Spirit Awards

Winner

Best Documentary

2012

The American Film Showcase

Official Selection

2012

African American Arts Alliance of Chicago Black Excellence Awards

Winner

Best Documentary

2011

Aspen Ideas Festival

Official Selection

Opening Night Selection

2011

Chicago Film Critics Association

Winner

Best Documentary

2011

Cleveland International Film Festival

Official Selection

2011

Common Folk Award

Winner

Film of the Year

2011

Dallas International Film Festival

Official Selection

2011

Directors Guild of America

Nominee

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary

2011

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

Winner

Special Jury Award

2011

Gotham Independent Film Awards

Nominee

Best Documentary

2011

Hot Docs

Official Selection

2011

Little Rock Film Festival

Winner

Audience Award

2011

Maryland Independent Film Festival

Official Selection

2011

Miami International Film Festival

Winner

Best Documentary

2011

Minneapolist/St.Paul International Film Festival

Winner

Best Documentary

2011

Nashville Film Festival

Official Selection

2011

National Film Critics Association

Finalist

Best Documentary

2011

Philadelphia Cinefest

Winner

Audience Award; Best Documentary

2011

Satellite Awards

Nominee

Best Documentary

2011

Seattle International Film Festival

Official Selection

2011

Sheffield Doc/Fest

Winner

Special Jury Award

2011

SILVERDOCS Documentary Film Festival

Distinction

Centerpiece Screening

2011

South by Southwest (SXSW)

Official Selection

2011

Sundance Film Festival

Official Selection

World Premiere

2011

Tricontinental Film Festival (South Africa)

Official Selection

2011

True/False Film Festival

Official Selection

True Life Fund

2011