#40. Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale
Gist: From the Sundance guide: Oscar Grant was a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who loved his friends, was generous to strangers, and had a hard time telling the truth to the mother of his beautiful daughter. He was scared and courageous and charming and raw, and as human as the community he was part of. That community paid attention to him, shouted on his behalf, and filmed him with their cell phones when BART officers, who were strong, intimidated, and acting in the way they thought they were supposed to behave around people like Oscar, shot him in cold blood at the Fruitvale subway stop on New Year’s Day in 2009.
Prediction: From Precious, to Blue Valentine, to Beasts, it’s almost become an annual tradition of sorts for one lucky Sundance film to book an Un Certain regard slot – we think this visceral, emotionally charged award-winner might be that film further introducing international press to Coogler’s small gem which could easily trickle into the fest sidebars.
