Nothing to See Here: Watts

About This Project

Summary

Nothing to See Here: Watts is a documentary made by the community, not about it. Twenty residents of Watts, rival gang members, LAPD officers, students, parents, and victims of violence, were given iPhones and full control of their footage. No script, no outside director; nothing made the cut unless the room agreed. The strategy was authorship: the people living the story decide how it is told, then screen the result for the leadership of Watts' four largest gangs, then house by house.

Goals & Objectives

To let Watts describe itself for the first time, on its own terms, and to put rival gang members, police, and victims of violence in one room long enough to see one another. Success was never the film alone, but what it set in motion in a community of 2.1 square miles and more than 60 gangs.

Results & Impact

A ceasefire followed. In the 12 months after the community-wide screenings, LAPD recorded zero gang-related homicides; homicides fell 90% and violent crime fell more than 50%. Harvard is documenting the process; Detroit, Boston, Chicago, Baltimore and Edmonton are exploring replication.