11-23-12: The Interrupters

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Interrupters-1123.mp3

As part of our WYPR Maryland Film Festival Spotlight series, and as part of "The Lines Between Us," Tom Hall interviews filmmaker Steve James. He’s the director of the documentary The Interrupters, a look at efforts to end violence in some of Chicago’s most troubled neighborhoods.  The Interrupters are people who work for the organization Cure Violence, formerly called CeaseFire, which was founded by epidemiologist Gary Slutkin, who saw similarities between the spread of violence and the spread of infectious disease.

The documentary was broadcast on PBS’s Frontline and has received screenings at leading film festivals around the world.  It's won numerous awards, and found its way to more than 60 lists of “Best Films of the Year” in 2011.