The Interrupters (film)

The Interrupters
Theatrical poster
Directed bySteve James
Produced bySteve James
Alex Kotlowitz
Zak Piper (co-producer)
StarringRicardo "Cobe" Williams
Eddie Bocanegra
Ameena Matthews
Tio Hardiman
Gary Slutkin
CinematographySteve James
Edited bySteve James
Aaron Wickenden
Music byJoshua Abrams
Production
company
Kartemquin Films / Rise Films
Distributed byCinema Guild (US Theatrical), PBSd (US DVD), Dogwoof (UK)
Release date
  • January 22, 2011 (2011-01-22) (Sundance)
Running time
125 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
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.[1] 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 documentary Hoop Dreams,[2] and co-produced by Alex Kotlowitz, author of There Are No Children Here.[3]

  1. ^ "The Interrupters". Kartemquin.com. Retrieved 2014-08-14.
  2. ^ The Editors (2001-07-08). "Hoop Dreams Movie Review & Film Summary (1994) | Roger Ebert". Rogerebert.suntimes.com. Retrieved 2014-08-14. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  3. ^ [1] Archived March 25, 2010, at the Wayback Machine