Down a Dark Stairwell
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Director/Producer: Ursula Liang
Year: 2020
Duration: 86’
Country: USA
Language: English, Cantonese, Mandarin
Category: Crime and Conspiracy
Category Sponsor: Hula
Topics: Activism, Civil/Human Rights, Crime, Society
Two communities navigate an uneven criminal justice system.
When an Asian-American police officer shoots and fatally wounds an African-American man in a darkened stairwell of a New York City housing project, it sets off a firestorm of emotion and fractured calls for justice. When the NYPD officer becomes the first to be convicted in a decade, the meaning of justice becomes complicated, pitting two marginalised communities against each another in a virulent fight against the system igniting the largest Asian-American protest in U.S. history. Even within each community, division occurs as to what is right and wrong.
Not solely a courtroom drama, the film captures the events of large-scale activism: street protests and clashes with authority. The quest of both families is a for justice in a system which is wanting.
This film is a crucial document of Asian American history.
Prof. Melissa Phruksachart, Medium.com
Timely, powerful, complex, and necessary viewing.
Andrew Parker, The Gate