FRUITVALE STATION

In the early hours of New Year’s Day 2009 Oscar Grant was shot by a transit police officer in Fruitvale station. The young man subsequently died and Officer Johannes Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Filmmaker Ryan Coogler grew up in the same neighbourhood and witnessed the riots which followed the shooting: “I saw the riots and the frustration and they didn't have an effect”, says Coogler. "If I can get two hours of people's time, I can affect them more than if they threw a trash can through a window." With the help of Grant’s family, Forest Whitaker’s production company and the Sundance Screenwriters Lab Coogler narrates the story of the last day of Oscar Grant’s life. Thanks to the amazing performances (among others by Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer) Coogler succeeds in showing us the person behind the news item. With this gripping drama Coogler won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Festival 2013.