‘The Interrupters’ Look to Stop Inner-City Violence

The middle of the summer isn’t the most likely time for a probing documentary film on inner-city violence. But the recently-released movie  “The Interrupters,” an official selection of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, is drawing attention and winning positive notices from critics.

The film, directed by Steve James of  “Hoop Dreams” fame, is an intimate look at the lives and work of Chicago-based anti-violence organization CeaseFire. The movie avoids a traditional narrative structure, and instead follows three of the crime “interrupters” in a year of violence mediation on the streets of some of Chicago’s most dangerous neighborhoods.

Inspiration for “The Interrupters” came from a 2008 New York Times magazine piece written by the film’s co-producer, Alex Kotlowitz. Together with James, Kotlowitz and the film’s crew spent a year exploring the troubled pasts of their interrupters.