2008 Woodie Awards
Film and panel examine real-life issue of Boston's violence
Drew Bonifant
Issue date: 2/28/07 Section: News
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"Street Soldiers" is a film that tells the stories of gang violence in Dorchester and Roxbury and the children and teenagers who get caught in it. The movie was shown as part of a movement supporting an end to street violence and encouraging a better life for kids growing up in dangerous communities.
The film took a no-nonsense approach to demonstrating violence on the streets of Boston. It contained interviews with parents whose children were killed, people of all ages who were involved in gangs and drugs, accounts of gang activity in Boston and even a simulation of a drive-by shooting.
The result was the illustration of a neighborhood in which trouble is everywhere and no resident is safe.
"I'm just trying to stay alive," said Jerry Cesar, a resident of Boston who was in the movie and is a contributor to the anti-violence movement. "I'm surprised that I'm still alive, that I made it past 30."
According to Jonathan Santos Silva, the coordinator for Legacy 2000, a program designed to enhance student retention, Northeastern's surroundings made it an appropriate place to show the movie.
"I think the reason we did this is because Northeastern is urban, and we interact with the community at a high level," he said.
The movement began when Mario Rodrigues, a Dorchester resident, gathered some members of the neighborhoods in the film and began working with Peace Boston and the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute to put an end to the shootings and drug deals in the communities.
"The change started with a friend who was serious about uniting the neighborhoods together," he said. "We all sat around a table and laid down the plans. We had meetings and set an agenda. That's why we decided that no convict was coming back out to cause chaos."
Cindy Diggs, founder of Peace Boston, spoke with admiration about the work Rodrigues had done with a friend.
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