A Reckoning in Boston
Available screening types
Virtual
On-demand
In-person
Available until
Jan 01, 2025
Speakers Available
Available in
United States of America, Canada
Brought to you by
Bullfrog Films
About the film
Kafi Dixon dreams of starting a land cooperative for women of color who have experienced trauma and disenfranchisement in the city of Boston. By day she drives a city bus; at night she studies the humanities in a tuition-free course. Her classmate Carl Chandler, a community elder, is the class’s intellectual leader. White suburban filmmaker James Rutenbeck documents the students’ engagement with the humanities. He looks for transformations but is awakened to the violence, racism and gentrification that threaten Kafi and Carl's very place in the city. Troubled by his failure to bring the film together, he enlists the pair as collaborators with a share in the film revenues. Five years on, despite many obstacles, Kafi and Carl arrive at surprising new places in their lives – and James does too.
Genre
Documentary
Runtime
1h 24m
Released
2020
Director
James Rutenbeck
Producer
Carl Chandler, Kafi Dixon, James Rutenbeck
Executive Producer
Llewellyn Smith, Anne Marie Stein
Writer
James Rutenbeck
Awards & recognition
Independent Lens
Nationwide Broadcast
Morehouse College Human Rights Film Festival
Best Feature
Independent Film Festival of Boston
Official Selection
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
Official Selection
Human Rights Watch Film Festival
Official Selection
What people are saying
‘A superb examination of our city's inbred racial inequities that tackles the subject on both the systemic/structural level and the deeply personal...An absolute must see, especially for white audiences who think they know their hometown.‘
Ty Burr
‘Boston seems to be ready to teach others a thing or two- like about founding a country, producing scrappy fighters and scrappier lawyers and scientists. Little surprise then that filmmaker James Rutenbeck found something waiting for him when he went to document a community humanities course in Dorcester, a Boston neighborhood. Thinking to turn on his camera on and let the students work through the Clemente course, a program for those who have faced great obstacles but long for a deeper relationship with critical learning, Rutenbeck soon found himself questioning his choices. It’s a powerful documentary, one that those who create community and those who want to participate in that creation, should watch.‘
Rebecca Romani
‘Racial inequalities in Boston come to the forefront in this powerful documentary...Viewers get an unvarnished look at historical and present-day obstacles facing many people of color...Providing plenty of discussion material, the film never shies away from exposing apparent racism, bias, and class divide.‘
Sue-Ellen Beauregard