# The Interrupters (2011 film)

*The Interrupters* is a 2011 American documentary film directed by Steve James and produced by James and the writer Alex Kotlowitz. It follows three "violence interrupters" working for the Chicago organization CeaseFire, former gang members and ex-convicts who intervene in street conflicts before they turn deadly, and it was shot over the course of a year as Chicago became a national symbol of urban violence.<sup>[1](https://kartemquin.org/film/the-interrupters/)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / producers | Steve James (director, cinematographer, co-editor); produced by James and Alex Kotlowitz<sup>[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67442-THE-INTERRUPTERS)</sup> |
| Release | World premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival; New York theatrical opening July 29, 2011, distributed by The Cinema Guild<sup>[1](https://kartemquin.org/film/the-interrupters/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67442-THE-INTERRUPTERS)</sup> |
| Runtime | 125 minutes (theatrical); the Sundance premiere cut ran more than half an hour longer<sup>[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67442-THE-INTERRUPTERS)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://www.screendaily.com/the-interrupters/5030320.article)</sup> |
| Main subjects | Ameena Matthews, Ricardo "Cobe" Williams, and Eddie Bocanegra, all CeaseFire violence interrupters<sup>[1](https://kartemquin.org/film/the-interrupters/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67442-THE-INTERRUPTERS)</sup> |
| Source | Inspired by Kotlowitz's New York Times Magazine article "Blocking the Transmission of Violence"<sup>[1](https://kartemquin.org/film/the-interrupters/)</sup> |
| Major awards | Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary (2012); News & Documentary Emmy, Outstanding Informational Programming, Long Form (2013); Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award, Silver Baton (2013)<sup>[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1319744/awards/)</sup> |
| Reception | 99% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 92 reviews; Metascore 86; US box office about $250,500<sup>[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_interrupters_2011)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-interrupters/critic-reviews/)</sup> |

## Spoilers

### Plot

The film begins in spring 2009, as Chicago becomes a national symbol for urban violence, and embeds with three interrupters, all of them people who once did the harm they now try to prevent.<sup>[1](https://kartemquin.org/film/the-interrupters/)</sup> The first is Ameena Matthews, daughter of [Jeff Fort](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeff-fort), one of the city's most notorious gang leaders, and a former drug ring enforcer who has since become a devout Muslim and a mother.<sup>[15](http://www.cinemaguild.com/theatrical/downloads/interrupters/press.pdf)</sup> Early in the film she wades into a violent street fight in Englewood, where people are threatening each other with knives and cement blocks, and shouts everyone down with a force that only someone with her history can command.<sup>[16](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/qa-filmmaker-steve-james-on-making-the-interrupters/)</sup> Her longest thread follows Caprysha, a teenage girl careening toward trouble, whom Ameena mentors, scolds, shelters, and drives to school, through setbacks and relapses, until Caprysha earns her high school diploma under Ameena's watch.<sup>[17](https://www.salon.com/2011/07/29/pick_of_the_week_the_interrupters/)</sup> Ameena also becomes a confidante to the mother of Derrion Albert, the Chicago teenager whose beating death made national news, sitting with her in grief and anger.<sup>[15](http://www.cinemaguild.com/theatrical/downloads/interrupters/press.pdf)</sup>

Cobe Williams, scarred by his father's murder when he was twelve and in and out of prison before joining CeaseFire, works the trickiest cases: young men teetering on the edge of retaliation.<sup>[15](http://www.cinemaguild.com/theatrical/downloads/interrupters/press.pdf)</sup> His signature sequence is a high-risk intervention with an armed young man, talking him down in real time while the camera holds on both of them, a scene Salon judged by saying it seems very likely that Cobe Williams saved somebody's life that day.<sup>[17](https://www.salon.com/2011/07/29/pick_of_the_week_the_interrupters/)</sup> He also works with a young man called Flamo and Flamo's girlfriend, building over weeks of small talk and stubborn follow-ups to a hospital-room reconciliation that would feel scripted in a fiction film.

**Eddie Bocanegra's thread carries the film's deepest secret and its most devastating scene.** Eddie is haunted by a murder he committed at seventeen, for which he served fourteen years, and he keeps busy teaching an art class for kids and painting murals for the dead.<sup>[15](http://www.cinemaguild.com/theatrical/downloads/interrupters/press.pdf)</sup> In the art class, a scene director Steve James calls the defining one for understanding him, Eddie asks the children to open up about their own fears; one after another speaks, until a tiny young girl tries to describe hearing neighbors arguing and gunshots and dissolves into tears, unable to finish.<sup>[18](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/in-his-own-words-steve-james-shares-a-scene-from-the-interrupters-53053/)</sup> Eddie's voiceover over the scene gives the film one of its central confessions: "I think I stay busy so I can stay out of bullshit, and, try to forget about some of the things that I've done."<sup>[18](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/in-his-own-words-steve-james-shares-a-scene-from-the-interrupters-53053/)</sup> The film then circles back to the crime itself, and late in the running time James arranges the meeting the whole thread has been building toward: Eddie sits down with the mother and brother of the man he killed more than two decades earlier. There is no swelling score and no held close-up; the brother's anger and the mother's weariness carry as much weight as Eddie's shame, and the film refuses to resolve the meeting into easy healing.

Other threads close in the same register. A handsome teenager known as Li'l Mikey, just out of nearly three years in prison, returns to the barbershop he robbed at gunpoint to apologize face to face, visibly nervous before walking in.<sup>[19](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/6428)</sup> Latoya Oliver reunites with her sons after her own incarceration.<sup>[19](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/6428)</sup> The final scenes wind down with a series of reconciliations between reformed criminals and their victims, and the film ends with the work visibly unfinished, in a city where the violence continues.<sup>[20](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/review-fighting-gang-violence-in-steve-jamess-the-interrupters-53127/)</sup>

### Characters

Ameena Matthews is the film's most forthright and charismatic subject, the daughter of gang leader Jeff Fort, once a dope runner and enforcer, now a Muslim mother who uses her street credibility to shout crowds into peace.<sup>[21](https://www.villagevoice.com/documenting-a-history-of-violence-in-the-interrupters/)</sup> Cobe Williams is the patient one, a man who lost his father to murder at twelve and did prison time before deciding to stand between the next shooter and the next victim. Eddie Bocanegra is the haunted one, a former teenager serving a life of remorse in installments, mentoring kids, painting memorials, and carrying the name of the man he killed. Around them move the people they serve: Caprysha, Flamo, Li'l Mikey, Latoya Oliver, and the grieving mothers of the recently dead.

### Interpretations and controversies

The film's epidemiological framing, violence as a disease that can be interrupted like an outbreak, is the idea critics debate most. Roger Ebert called the film's centerpiece "a profound theory on human nature" and judged it the closest thing to a real-life drama rather than a dry public health study.<sup>[22](https://www.rogerebert.com/far-flung-correspondents/extinguishing-the-ecstasy-of-anger)</sup> Some viewers noted that the documentary asserts CeaseFire's model more than it tests it, never rigorously examining the data behind the interruptions it shows. The film's length was the other sticking point: Variety argued it "never quite earns" its running time.<sup>[23](https://variety.com/2011/film/reviews/the-interrupters-1117944431/)</sup>

## Background: CeaseFire and the interrupters

The film's subjects work for CeaseFire, an organization founded by the epidemiologist Gary Slutkin, who had worked on infectious disease control, including for the World Health Organization's Global Program on AIDS. Slutkin's premise is that the spread of violence mimics the spread of infectious diseases, so the treatment should be similar: go after the most infected and stop the transmission at its source.<sup>[1](https://kartemquin.org/film/the-interrupters/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[7](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-116hhrg39718/pdf/CHRG-116hhrg39718.pdf)</sup> The Violence Interrupters program, a cornerstone of the organization, was created by Tio Hardiman, who heads it.<sup>[1](https://kartemquin.org/film/the-interrupters/)</sup>

The interrupters' qualification is their own history. Because they once lived the violent life they now oppose, they hold credibility with gang members and at-risk youth that police and outsiders lack, and they intervene in conflicts before they explode into violence.<sup>[1](https://kartemquin.org/film/the-interrupters/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[8](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-aug-26-la-et-interrupters-20110826-story.html)</sup> The film was shot during a period when Chicago was besieged by high-profile incidents, most notably the fatal beating of the high school student Derrion Albert, which was caught on videotape.<sup>[1](https://kartemquin.org/film/the-interrupters/)</sup>

## The three subjects

**Ameena Matthews** is the daughter of Jeff Fort, one of Chicago's most notorious gang leaders, and was herself a drug ring enforcer. Having children and finding solace in her Muslim faith pulled her off the streets. In the film she becomes a close confidante to Derrion Albert's mother after his death, and over many months she befriends and tries to steer a feisty teenaged girl who reminds her of herself at that age. Colleagues know her for her fearlessness.<sup>[1](https://kartemquin.org/film/the-interrupters/)</sup>

**Cobe Williams**, scarred by his father's murder, cycled in and out of prison until his family, particularly a young son, helped him find his footing. He disarms people with humor and good nature; his most challenging moment in the film comes when he must pat down a man so bent on revenge that Williams has to confirm he has put away his gun. He also works with a teenaged boy just out of prison and a young man squatting in a foreclosed home.<sup>[1](https://kartemquin.org/film/the-interrupters/)</sup>

**Eddie Bocanegra** is haunted by a murder he committed at seventeen, and his CeaseFire work is part of his repentance. Most disturbed by the effects of violence on children, he works with younger kids, including a 16-year-old girl whose brother died in her arms. He learned to paint in prison and teaches art to children, warning them of the trauma violence inflicts.<sup>[1](https://kartemquin.org/film/the-interrupters/)</sup>

## Production

James and Kotlowitz, who both live in the Chicago area, spent a year filming with CeaseFire. James shot the film himself, working with sound recordist and co-producer Zak Piper as a small crew on call the way the interrupters were; when the interrupters judged a situation workable for the camera, they would call, sometimes late at night. Much of the filming took place in Englewood, the South Side neighborhood where Matthews and Williams do most of their work.<sup>[9](https://www.documentary.org/online-feature/mediations-camera-steve-james-making-interrupters)</sup>

Gaining trust took time. Matthews at first met the filmmakers only by appointment and called them her "stalkers" before allowing them to accompany her on mediations; Williams, though outgoing, declined to discuss parts of his criminal past.<sup>[9](https://www.documentary.org/online-feature/mediations-camera-steve-james-making-interrupters)</sup> The film was edited by James and Aaron Wickenden, with original music by Joshua Abrams.<sup>[1](https://kartemquin.org/film/the-interrupters/)</sup> Production companies were Kartemquin Films and Rise Films, with WGBH/[Frontline](https://www.edgepedia.org/frontline), the Independent Television Service, and BBC Storyville as co-production partners; the film later aired on PBS's *Frontline* on February 14, 2012.<sup>[3](https://www.screendaily.com/the-interrupters/5030320.article)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[9](https://www.documentary.org/online-feature/mediations-camera-steve-james-making-interrupters)</sup>

The film avoids narration, onscreen interviews, and any acknowledgment of the camera, an approach critics singled out as direct, experiential cinema.<sup>[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_interrupters_2011)</sup> Reviewers also noted what the film does not do: it does not mention gun control, does not dialogue with police, and does not present CeaseFire as able to end crime on its own, instead highlighting the organization's limits.<sup>[10](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-interrupters-15-2336471.html)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://www.screendaily.com/the-interrupters/5030320.article)</sup>

## Reception and awards

The film premiered at the 2011 [Sundance Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/sundance-film-festival) and screened at SXSW, Hot Docs, Full Frame (Special Jury Award), Sheffield Doc/Fest (Special Jury Award), and Silverdocs, among many other festivals.<sup>[1](https://kartemquin.org/film/the-interrupters/)</sup> Critical response was strongly positive: Roger Ebert called it James's most important film, and the Los Angeles Times's Kenneth Turan wrote that it succeeds because it refuses to soften reality.<sup>[11](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-interrupters-2011)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[8](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-aug-26-la-et-interrupters-20110826-story.html)</sup> It won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary, the Cinema Eye Honors for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking and Best Direction, and the Chicago Film Critics Association award for Best Documentary, and it received a 2013 Emmy for Outstanding Informational Programming, Long Form and a duPont-Columbia Silver Baton.<sup>[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1319744/awards/)</sup>

## The program after the film

CeaseFire, later renamed Cure Violence, has been evaluated repeatedly, with mixed but partly positive findings. A National Institute of Justice evaluation published in 2008 found that six of seven CeaseFire sites showed decreases in the size and intensity of shooting "hot spots," with the decreases in four of those areas linked to the intervention, though the evaluators cautioned that a broad, poorly understood decline in Chicago violence beginning in 1992 made attribution difficult.<sup>[12](https://nij.ojp.gov/library/publications/evaluation-ceasefire-chicago)</sup> Later reporting has described the evidence for the model as mixed: a 2015 review of a [Pittsburgh](https://www.edgepedia.org/pittsburgh) program did not find a significant reduction in homicides in target areas, while defenders argued those sites did not follow the Cure Violence model properly.<sup>[13](https://time.com/6148886/cure-violence-st-louis-effectiveness/)</sup> A 2017 National Gang Center overview describes the interrupters' method as it appears in the film: detecting potential shooting events through community members, police, high-risk individuals, and hospital emergency rooms, then mediating through one-on-one talks, sit-downs, and third-party diplomacy.<sup>[14](https://nationalgangcenter.ojp.gov/insights/25/cure-violence-the-interrupters)</sup>

## References

1. [The Interrupters, Kartemquin Films](https://kartemquin.org/film/the-interrupters/)
2. [The Interrupters (2011), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67442-THE-INTERRUPTERS)
3. [The Interrupters review, Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/the-interrupters/5030320.article)
4. [The Interrupters (2011) Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1319744/awards/)
5. [The Interrupters (2011), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_interrupters_2011)
6. [The Interrupters Critic Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-interrupters/critic-reviews/)
7. ["The Interrupters," a Documentary, New York Times review via govinfo](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-116hhrg39718/pdf/CHRG-116hhrg39718.pdf)
8. [Movie review: 'The Interrupters', Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-aug-26-la-et-interrupters-20110826-story.html)
9. [Mediations with the Camera: Steve James on Making 'The Interrupters', International Documentary Association](https://www.documentary.org/online-feature/mediations-camera-steve-james-making-interrupters)
10. [The Interrupters (15) review, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-interrupters-15-2336471.html)
11. [They once were blind, but now they see, review by Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-interrupters-2011)
12. [Evaluation of CeaseFire-Chicago, National Institute of Justice](https://nij.ojp.gov/library/publications/evaluation-ceasefire-chicago)
13. [A New Study Casts Doubt on One of the Country's Most Popular Violence Prevention Approaches, TIME](https://time.com/6148886/cure-violence-st-louis-effectiveness/)
14. [Cure Violence: The Interrupters, National Gang Center](https://nationalgangcenter.ojp.gov/insights/25/cure-violence-the-interrupters)
15. [http://www.cinemaguild.com/theatrical/downloads/interrupters/press.pdf](http://www.cinemaguild.com/theatrical/downloads/interrupters/press.pdf)
16. [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/qa-filmmaker-steve-james-on-making-the-interrupters/](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/qa-filmmaker-steve-james-on-making-the-interrupters/)
17. [https://www.salon.com/2011/07/29/pick_of_the_week_the_interrupters/](https://www.salon.com/2011/07/29/pick_of_the_week_the_interrupters/)
18. [https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/in-his-own-words-steve-james-shares-a-scene-from-the-interrupters-53053/](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/in-his-own-words-steve-james-shares-a-scene-from-the-interrupters-53053/)
19. [http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/6428](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/6428)
20. [https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/review-fighting-gang-violence-in-steve-jamess-the-interrupters-53127/](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/review-fighting-gang-violence-in-steve-jamess-the-interrupters-53127/)
21. [https://www.villagevoice.com/documenting-a-history-of-violence-in-the-interrupters/](https://www.villagevoice.com/documenting-a-history-of-violence-in-the-interrupters/)
22. [https://www.rogerebert.com/far-flung-correspondents/extinguishing-the-ecstasy-of-anger](https://www.rogerebert.com/far-flung-correspondents/extinguishing-the-ecstasy-of-anger)
23. [https://variety.com/2011/film/reviews/the-interrupters-1117944431/](https://variety.com/2011/film/reviews/the-interrupters-1117944431/)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Documentary and biographical films › Documentary films by subject: politics, war, and society › Released 1927 to 2016*

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