Highlights
- Tribeca Film Festival 2021
- DOC10 Film Festival
Shuling’s Role
Additional Cinematography
Director
Bing Liu
Joshua Altman
Producer
Zak Piper
Kelsey Carr
Bing Liu
Joshua Altman
Executive Producer
Davis Guggenheim
Laurene Powell Jobs
Nicole Stott
Jonathan Silberberg
Rahdi Taylor
Shannon Dill
Co-Producer
Carina Nieto
Cinematographer
Bing Liu
Joshua Altman
Editor
Bing Liu
Joshua Altman
Joe Beshenkovsky
Jennifer Tiexiera
Chicago’s South and West sides are infamous for their eye-popping murder rates. Seeking to stem the scourge of crime plaguing their neighborhoods, two men—one atoning for having committed a senseless murder as a youth—create community-based self-help programs to offer mentorship and healing to young men likely to be either victims or perpetrators of gun violence. Seeking understanding rather than judgement, the film witnesses these young men doing the hard work to examine their rationales and fears, often revealing the deep trauma that feeds the cycles of violence that leave all parties damaged. The film follows program participants Shamont, Zay, Charles as they struggle to tame their past demons and, with the guidance of their mentors, face a brighter future.
With remarkable access, Academy Award® nominated documentarian Bing Liu (Minding the Gap) and Joshua Altman embed themselves with the participants of these community groups as they share their unfiltered stories with vulnerability and honesty. This urgent documentary, deftly edited by Jennifer Tiexiera (P.S. Burn This Letter, 17 Blocks) and Joe Beshenkovsky (Jane, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck) examines the human causes and costs of gun violence with sensitivity and compassion. —Karen McMullen
Shuling Yong | Documentary DP and Cinematographer 