If you know the names Michael Brown and Freddie Gray, you may have wondered: why are so many black men dying at the hands of police officers? And if you’ve seen the resultant protests in Ferguson and Baltimore, you may have further asked: are those police officers or army units? Do Not Resist offers a powerful response with its fast-paced exposé of the militarization of US police departments. This Tribeca Film Festival Best Documentary winner and Hot Docs favourite puts viewers in the center of the action—from a ride-along with a South Carolina SWAT team, to a police training seminar teaching the importance of “righteous violence”—and crafts a damning picture of an institutional complicity that can kill.
Critical praise:
- The Hollywood Reporter - “A quietly seething look at present-day policing in America.”
- Metro - “Creates an experience, one haunting and anger-making, even darkly comic.”
- rogerebert.com - “A furious and often terrifying documentary."
- Village Voice - "Offers on-the-ground footage of protests, police-academy training, and interviews with people involved in both.”