Directed by Andrew James • Documentary • With James "Jack Rabbit" Jackson, Deris Solomon, Minister Malik Shabazz, Derionna Watkins, Lorraine Ray • 2020 • 101 minutes
In a rapidly changing America where mass inequality and dwindling opportunity have devastated the black working class, three men fight to build something lasting for themselves and future generations.
Shot over three years in the neighborhoods of Detroit, Street Fighting Men is a story of hard work, faith and manhood in a community left to fend for itself. The film takes a deep, observational dive into the lives of three African American men: retired cop Jack Rabbit, who continues to patrol the mean streets as a citizen; Deris, who has made bad choices in the past but wants to further his education and serve as a role model for his baby daughter; and Luke, who labors mightily as he rehabs a dilapidated house while putting together a meager living.
Borrowing from the visual language and philosophy of neorealism, and featuring a beautiful score by Detroit-based musician Shigeto, Street Fighting Men is an emotionally powerful, visually compelling journey into the forgotten neighborhoods of Detroit; a place that embodies the greatest challenges we still face as a country.
"A portrait of black resilience and perseverance — without sentimentality — that still offers a way out of the dark." —April Wolfe, Film Critic & Writer
—Winner - Spirit Award, Brooklyn Film Festival
—Winner - Special Jury Award, Lake County Film Festival
Up Next in Detroit
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Winter Soldier
Directed by Winterfilm Collective • Documentary • With John Kerry • 1972 • 96 minutes
In February 1971, one month after the revelations of the My Lai massacre, a public inquiry into war crimes committed by American forces in Vietnam was held at a Howard Johnson motel in Detroit. The Vietnam Vete...
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The Water Front
Directed by Liz Miller • Documentary • 2008 • 53 minutes
What if you lived by the largest body of fresh water in the world but could no longer afford to use it?
With a shrinking population, the post-industrial city of Highland Park, Michigan is on the verge of financial collapse. The state of M...
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We Are Not Ghosts
Directed by Mark Dworkin & Melissa Young • Documentary • 2012 • 52 minutes
Fifty years ago Detroit was booming with two million hard-working people living the American Dream. Then the auto industry crashed and so did the Motor City. Most moved away; whole neighborhoods turned into wastelands...
