The Boys of Baraka (2005)

Directors:

Heidi Ewing
Rachel Grady

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Twenty 12-year-old black boys from one of the most violent ghettos in Baltimore, Maryland, are taken...

Plot Keywords:

Baltimore Maryland | African American | Urban | Education

Awards:

5 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Devon Brown	...	Himself
Darius Chambers	...	Himself
Richard Keyser	...	Himself
Justin Mackall	...	Himself
Montrey Moore	...	Himself
Romesh Vance	...	Himself

Directed by
Heidi Ewing
Rachel Grady

Produced by
Heidi Ewing	....	producer
Rachel Grady	....	producer
Nikos Katsaounis	....	assistant producer

Original Music by
J.J. McGeehan

Cinematography by
Marco Franzoni
Tony Hardmon

Film Editing by
Enat Sidi

Sound Department
David Corcoran	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Mira Chang	....	additional photographer
Robert Palumbo	....	additional photographer

Editorial Department
Anne Eastman	....	assistant editor
Jacquelyn Shulman	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Josh Braun	....	distribution advisor
Roger Kass	....	distribution advisor
J.P. Welgus	....	production intern
Michelle Materre	....	consultant: marketing and distribution (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Loki Films

Distributors

• THINKFilm (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• Velocity Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• National Film Network (????) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Materre Media Consulting  marketing strategist

MPAA:

Rated R for some language

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:Unrated | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Loki Films

Soundtrack:

Climbing Mt. Kenya

An engrossing account of a year spent at a Kenyan boarding school by 11- and 12-year-old boys from a crime-ridden Baltimore neighborhood.

I saw this film at the SXSW 2005 film festival where it won the Special Jury prize and was the runner-up audience favorite. It's a powerful emotionally involving film that should reach a wide audience. The skill of the filmmakers is most evident as you say to yourself over and over, "how could they have gotten that on film? Don't these people see the camera watching them?" Beautifully shot with a tremendous amount of heart, it's the first documentary (non-Holocaust-related) I've seen that had grown men in the audience with tears in their eyes. It contains both hope and despair, and makes you feel strongly that this shouldn't be happening in the United States of America. As soon as you have the chance, go and see it.