RIOT FROM WRONG film screening with Q&A

August 16, 2012 20:00

Published: August 13, 2012 15:15 by Portobello Pop Up Cinema |

Tagged as: cinema culture cuts from pop portobello repression riot social_struggles solidarity up wrong

Places: all and broadwater hill london notting

Important new documentary film made by the youth media collective Fully Focused, produced by 19 young Londoners. Seeks to document last years August uprisings from within the communities in which they occurred and, crucially, from the perspective of young people 

Whilst clearly out to provide a counterbalance to the condemnation and outright dehumanisation of the rioters in mainstream media coverage, Riot from Wrong is carefully balanced, particularly with regards to the arson of local shops and homes. The film in no way seeks to justify the burning and looting, and allows for the perspective of local residents who have lost everything. The riots’ immediate aftermath is painful – the damage to communities, the demonisation of youth in the media and the disproportionate sentencing of a group of people who were by and large first-time offenders.
This powerful new documentary is set in three parts. First, the viewer is taken back to Ferry Lane in Tottenham on the 4thof August of last year, where an eye witness gives an account of the last seconds of the life of Mark Duggan. Interviews with the Duggan family follow.  There is exclusive footage – some of it filmed on mobile phones – of Tottenham High Road, where, two days after Duggan’s death, his family and friends have arrived at the police station demanding answers. After hours of waiting, a young girl gets beaten up by police and the fuse is lit – a riot ensues.
The second part of the film seeks to understand the anger at the police, frustration with society and alienation from their communities so many young people feel. Through interviews the film shows how a lot of working class youngsters are victims of stereotyping in the media, racial profiling and police harassment. We learn about stop and search, deaths in police custody (disproportionally black men) and questions are raised about the proclaimed independence of the IPCC – a source of grievance for many who have lost loved ones at the hands of the police.Tottenham community activist Stafford Scott, the Guardian’s Polly Toynbee, Hackney-based youth worker Janette Collins and Michael Mansfield QC are all interviewed. The dots between unemployment, government cuts to youth services, the raising of university fees, the scrapping of EMA, the MP’s expenses scandal, consumerism, the illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the bail out of the banks are carefully joined. 
The third and final part of the film explores some answers. The need for a more equal society, jobs, proper funding for education, youth services and housing. Finally, the film emphasises the importance of art and expression in fostering a new generation of healthy young people, featuring performances from youth groups.

The brooms in Clapham were no solution, and the halo of the Olympic flame will fade very soon. But in many ways, Riot from Wrong is an answer in itself. The slickness of its production and the quality of this film’s journalism can rival any mainstream media production. Riot from Wrong is real, and as a historical assessment of contemporary Britain. Riot from Wrong is a celebration of young talent and an example of what journalism should be like – rooted in the community, and sceptical of the state. This is a documentary everyone should see.

The screening is followed by panel discussion with 

• The filmmakers
• Stafford Scott of the Tottenham Defence Campaign
• Akala

Trailer: Riot From Wrong Official Trailer - YouTube
For more information on the film visit:Riot from Wrong | Institute of Race Relations The Multicultural PoliticRiot From Wrong Screening | 99percentblog
Venue: Portobello Pop Up Cinema » Digital Microplex Cinema is a not for profit cinema, no pre booking available, suggested donation £5 on the door,capacity 200 on first come first served basis, screening at 8pm

Contact email: http://www.portobellopopup.com/

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