Lights of Baltimore

Lights of Baltimore illuminates the milieu in which Freddie Gray died, documenting the prolonged impact of his death on his city and his country, and examining the social, political, and historical contexts that gave rise to the events which ended his life.

In 2015, an unarmed Black man named Freddie Gray died in police custody in Baltimore. The video of his arrest immediately circulated on social media and news networks, and the brutality displayed sparked a protest movement on the streets of Baltimore — variously referred to by different interests as "the uprising", "the unrest", or "the riots". Governor Larry Hogan called in the National Guard and declared a state of emergency, and Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore State's Attorney, charged six police officers in connection with Freddie Gray's death. But in the end, despite sufficient evidence to justify an indictment, juries returned no guilty verdicts.

Since those events, questions about the tactics and militarization of policing, possibilities of justice for marginalized communities, and Black civil rights continue to haunt the American psyche and stratify the notional social fabric. In 2015, President Barack Obama argued that these problems are an enduring part of American history, but just two years later his successor Donald Trump told police not to be "too nice" during exactly the kind of rough rides that led to Freddie Gray's death. In 2020, people across the United States rose up to protest police violence against Black Americans after the brutal murder of George Floyd, just as the residents of Baltimore had done after the death of Freddie Gray.

Over the past decades, new technologies have democratized citizens' ability to record events on smartphones and upload to social media. But new tech has also facilitated mass surveillance through CCTV cameras in cities like Baltimore, and FBI drones deployed across the nation. A rich literature on race, policing, and social justice continues to pour forth. And yet deaths like Freddie Gray's and George Floyd's keep happening with alarming regularity, as the nation seeks to reckon with — or hide from — the legacy of racism and police brutality that continues to haunt our communities.

With immersive detail and frank talk from community members, activists, academics, and police, Lights of Baltimore explores discriminatory social policies, implicit bias, and mass surveillance, while celebrating the resilience of the people who knew Gray and the determined activism of the communities in which he shared. Far from being an isolated incident, Freddy Gray’s murder was rooted in a long history of racialized policing in Baltimore and the U.S. This film documents that history and lends an ear to Baltimore citizens’ search for a new way forward.

FEATURING:

Laurie Robinson, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society, George Mason University / Co-Chair, White House Task Force on 21st Century Policing
Elizabeth Nix, Professor of History, University of Baltimore
Kimberly Moffitt, Professor of History, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Catherine Rents, former investigative journalist, The Baltimore Sun
Commissioner Kevin Davis, former head of Baltimore Police Department
Chief Rodney Hill, former chief of Internal Affiars, Baltimore Police Department
Marilyn Mosby, State's Attorney of Baltimore City
Billy Murphy, Freddie Gray's family attorney

FILMMAKER'S STATEMENT: "Lights of Baltimore is the result of five years' questioning of a city I came to call home.

The film was made with little funding but great support. Making a documentary was an incredible journey, and I am grateful to my team, friends, mentors, supporters, but mostly the Baltimore communities who keep fighting and stay resilient despite all the challenges they face.

This documentary is my personal vision of a city that I hope the Baltimorean will recognize as their own. Perhaps those who have never been there will feel drawn to visit.

My hope is that stories of some of the people who are helping to build Baltimore's future will help audiences understand all that is at stake, deepening their empathy for those they think they already know and, more challenging still, developing empathy for those they did not previously understand."

—Sabrina Bouarour

Preview link available upon request. Contact [email protected] for more information

Documentary Film - Video Project - Lights of Baltimore

A Film by Sabrina Bouarour

83 minutes

Scene Selection • Closed Captioned

Grades 10 - Adult

Item #: LOB-2020

A documentary about the battle to tell the story of the Baltimore uprising in 2015

Starting at $89

Licensing Options

K-12 Classrooms, Public Libraries: DVD - $89 K-12 Classrooms, Public Libraries: DVD + Digital File - $139 Colleges, Institutions, Businesses: DVD - $395 Colleges: DVD with Digital Site License - $495 Community Screenings: Please Complete 'Host a Screening' Form found on top menu bar K-12 School District pricing available. Please inquire at [email protected]

The item you are trying to purchase is currently out of stock.
Please enter your name, email, and phone number below.
We will contact you as soon as this product is available.

Name: *

Email: *

Phone: *

Verification: *

Type the word above...

Reviews and Festivals

"This well-balanced film from Sabrina Bouarour is a must-see documentary. It is an excellent resource to include in curriculum to highlight the Black Lives Matter Movement...Highly recommend this film for African American and Law Enforcement studies."

— Educational Media Reviews Online

"An incredibly accessible documentary... Excellent resource for anyone interested in learning about police brutality, racial discrimination, or the 2015 Baltimore Uprising... Would fit in well in film collections about police brutality, contemporary politics, and civil rights. Professors of criminal justice, contemporary history, and African American studies will have the most interest in Lights of Baltimore."

— Video Librarian

"From the very first words and images that appear on-screen in the documentary Lights of Baltimore, you know you are in the hands of a skilled filmmaker with some poetry in her soul... Even as the film offers its own distinct visual interpretation of Baltimore, it explores the battle over imagery of the city and the politics involved in different interpretations: framing and narratives from law enforcement authorities, citizens seeking social change, and the media... I am glad she came, questioned, and recorded the answers she found with such power and poetry."

— The Baltimore Sun

"In the case of Baltimore, and of urban America in general, the battle of images has been far too one-sided. Lights of Baltimore offers an important corrective to the views we're used to being fed, and I can only hope that more will follow."

— The Arts STL

"Bouarour visually echoes news footage of the 2015 Baltimore protests with news footage from the Baltimore riots of 1968 following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Watching Maryland Governor Larry Hogan declare a state of emergency in April 2015 using language and imagery almost identical to that of then-Governor Spiro Agnew in April 1968 visually, and provocatively, asks the viewer to consider what has changed — and what hasn't — in the city over nearly half a century. It's a way of examining and questioning history that film can uniquely explore."

— The Hub, John Hopkins University

"Does a particularly admiral job of unpacking the complexity of Baltimore, deftly providing the larger context by delving deeply into both the past and the present. Lights of Baltimore excels in exploring the bigger picture: the development of policing in Baltimore, early red-lining practices, the eruption of anger after the assassination of MLK, and the planned disinvestment in Black communities over many decades. Perhaps most importantly, the film doesn't focus exclusively on poverty and the police sirens but also features footage of lived life in the community, with its engaged members taking cooperative action."

— Cinema St. Louis

"Perfectly relevant, as the country still in many ways is grappling with race relationships and racial tensions... Bouarour explores the logistics of the protests, the history of racial protests, as well as the history of policing in Baltimore specifically."

— DelmarvaLife, The M Report

WINNER

Ocean City Film Festival, Best Feature Film

OFFICIAL SELECTION
St. Louis International Film Festival

Ocean City Film Festival

Ischia Global Film Festival

The Râsnov Histories and Film Festival

Maryland Film Festival

Item In Cart

A New Color: The Art of Being Edythe Boone

Starting at $79

Select Options

Item In Cart

Hiding in the Walls

Starting at $89

Select Options

Item In Cart

Sickies Making Films

Starting at $89

Select Options

Item In Cart

What Happened in Vegas

Starting at $89

Select Options

Lights of Baltimore

Select License (limited Public Performance Rights included)

Reviews and Festivals

related films

related subjects

Sign Up to Receive News & Updates

Lists*