John Ridley’s L.A. riot documentary to play at 2017 Milwaukee Film Festival
Oscar winner John Ridley’s documentary about Los Angeles in the decade leading up to the 1992 riot after the Rodney King verdict highlights the expanded Black Lens program at the 2017 Milwaukee Film Festival.
Ridley — the “12 Years a Slave” screenwriter, Mequon native and a member of the board of Milwaukee Film — debuted “Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992” on ABC in April.
Other highlights of the 2017 Black Lens program is a 20th anniversary showing of the 1997 romantic comedy “Love Jones,” with Nia Long and Larenz Tate.
The Black Lens program has grown this year to include eight feature-length films and two programs of short films by African-American filmmakers, Milwaukee Film announced Tuesday.
In addition to the shorts programs — one made up of works about the idea of family, the other a showcase of “contemporary black filmmaking” — the Black Lens lineup includes:
“ACORN and the Firestorm,” a documentary exploring the events surrounding the downfall of the community organization and its connection to the accelerated polarization of political conversation.
“Destined,” a crime drama about a Detroit man whose life could have followed one of two paths, exploring both.
“72 Hours: A Brooklyn Love Story?” a tale following the travails of an 18-year-old Brooklyn denizen confronted by his last three days before heading off to college and a whole different world.
“Like Cotton Twines,” a short film about an American volunteer teaching in a village in Ghana who steps in when his teenage student is sold into slavery to pay off a family debt.
“Unrest,” a first-person documentary by Jennifer Brea, who set out to find the answers about the mysterious fever that left her immobilized and discovered the world of chronic fatigue syndrome.
“Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities,” a look at America’s historically black colleges by filmmaker Stanley Nelson (”The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution”).
The 2017 Milwaukee Film Festival runs Sept. 28 through Oct. 12. For ticket packages and information, go to mkefilm.org.