Directed by: Sierra Pettengill – USA – 2022 – 91 min

Synopsis:

Riotsville is a fictional city erected by the American army in the 1960s, to serve as training ground for the increasingly militarized police, in the attempt to build a counter-narrative to the popular revolts and discontentment of those years. People were protesting against the Vietnam War and were demanding equal rights for people of colour, but the answer given by the authorities proved both sinister and ridiculous. In an almost kaleidoscopic manner, the film uses previously unexplored archival footage to recreate and shed light on a national consciousness more and more obsessed with maintaining order and obeying the law, by any means. Yes, the resemblance to the current reality is built on purpose, and this mental back-and-forth that the viewer operates almost unconsciously explores the relationship between authority and individual, power and resistance, state and citizen.