street fight

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE 2006- Best Documentary

STREET FIGHT chronicles the bare-knuckles race for mayor of Newark, N.J. between Cory Booker, a 32-year old Rhodes Scholar/Yale Law School grad, and Sharpe James, the four-term incumbent twice his age.

The film follows Booker as he campaigns through Newark's housing projects and squares off against an old-style political machine - the kind now vanished from most of America - which uses police and code inspectors to crush opponents. By election day, the climate becomes so heated that the Federal government is forced to send in observers to watch for cheating and violence.

The battle sheds light on important American questions about democracy, poverty and - perhaps most important - race. In a surprising twist for an election between two African-Americans, the mayor accuses Booker of not being "really black," causing voters to examine how we define race in this country. "We tell our children to get educated," one Newarker says, "and when they do, we call them white. What kind of a message does that send?"

STREET FIGHT tells a story of democracy that is very different from those stories presented in campaign films like THE WAR ROOM or JOURNEYS WITH GEORGE. In Newark, elections are not about spin-doctors and media consultants staging photo ops. In Newark, it is said, elections are won and lost in the streets.

"The Best American, Political documentary since 1993's, The War Room."
THE WASHINGTON POST

"Vastly entertaining....Street Fight will keep you on the edge of your
seat." VARIETY

SILVER DOCS FESTIVAL
Winner - Audience Award

HOT DOCS FILM FESTIVAL
Winner - Audience Award
Winner Jury Prize for Best International Documentary

TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
Winner - Audience Award