We spoke with filmmaker and documentarian April Martin and print artist Oree Originol about police terrorism, Black Lives Matter Movement and the intersection between Arts, Culture, Activism and Community.
April Martin co-directed Cincinnati Goddamn. The film captures the personal trauma and civic unrest that followed the deaths of 15 African American men at the hands of Cincinnati police from 1995 to 2001. Told through news reports, first-person accounts, and cinema verité footage,Cincinnati Goddamn focuses on the killings of Roger Owensby, Jr. and Timothy Thomas, the protests and riots that followed their deaths, and the efforts to reform the Cincinnati Police Department in response. The film lays bare the emotional toll that the deaths took on their families as they struggled to achieve justice for their sons. Interviews with activists, city leaders, and Department of Justice officials also trace the development of the historic model of reform known as the “Collaborative Agreement,” which is now widely used in police departments throughout the United States and has been frequently mentioned in the media following recent events in Ferguson, New York, and Baltimore
www.cincinnatigoddamn.com to view trailer.