Posted by | Ray Cornelius
NYC’s Tribeca Film Festival is in full swing and one of the films that has a lot of people talking is “Copwatch.” The documentary follows the organization, WeCopwatch, whose mission is to film police activity as a non-violent form of protest and deterrent to police brutality.
The documentary profiles several WeCopwatch members including: Jacob Crawford (co-founder) who has spent more than 15 years with a camera in his hand documenting police activity; David Whitt (co-founder) a young father who lived in Ferguson and started filming after Michael Brown‘s “Hands Up” shooting; Ramsey Orta who captured Eric Garner‘s final words “I Can’t Breathe” on his cell phone; and Kevin Moore who captured Freddie Gray‘s fatal arrest. Like Ramsey who is currently incarcerated, Kevin became a target for making his voice heard and was arrested shortly after he filmed the video while attending a protest.
Directed by Camilla Hall, “Copwatch” is not about what happened in front of the cameras, but it’s about those who stood behind them. It’s about a sense brotherhood that developed through the shared trauma of standing up to police brutality.
Peep the trailer below:
“Copwatch” premieres today at 2 p.m. EST at
NYC’s Cinépolis Chelsea located at 260 W 23rd St.
