The other night I had a chance to see Stacy Peralta’s amazing new documentary Crips and Bloods: Made in America about the notorious Los Angeles gangs, and I highly recommend you check it out when it comes to a theater near you.  The film is both enlightening and upsetting, providing the often overlooked context and history, which includes the Civil Rights movement and the Watts Riots.

You’re probably familiar with Stacy’s other beautiful films, Riding Giants and Dogtown & Z-boys, but this film takes on a completely different California sub-culture far from the sunny beaches and gnarly skateparks.  And while his latest effort may have a similarly slick style, Crips and Bloods unblinkingly reveals the tragedies of South Central and offers hope to those looking for a way out of the cycle of violence.  Screenings begin in New York next week, and continue in selected cities over the next two months.
takepart by supporting one the many gang intervention groups working in Los Angeles.