Bernice King calls city of Watts documentary a model for community healing

Word is spreading about a documentary that Dr. Bernice King says reflects the kind of healing that can take place in communities everywhere.

The project behind “Nothing to See Here: Watts” unfolded over three and a half years and included more than 200 hours of footage. About 200 people were asked to film their lives and speak honestly about what it means to live in a city plagued by violence. Many declined, 20 said yes. Along the way, the film was rejected by 100 film festivals, the filmmakers said.

Last Thursday night, The King Center screened the film at the College Football Hall of Fame. Atlanta was only the third audience to see it, and the screening took place on the actual birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The documentary is built from footage captured by family members and victims of violent crime, rival gang members of the Bloods and Crips, and police officers in Watts, California. Using iPhones, they documented the realities of their lives and became the filmmakers themselves. The result is an unfiltered portrait of life shaped by persistent violence.

Viewers witness a single mother robbed in her car with her small daughters in the back seats — and the trauma that lingers long after. We see a young man shot, taking his final breaths, lying alongside a street curb. We feel the loss of small children killed by stray bullets meant for someone else. We learn how police officers’ lives also become casualties of the neighborhoods they patrol. We glimpse the brutality and complexity of gang life.

Over time, the project grew into a broader community effort of healing. There are now zero reported homicides in Watts in the past 12 months, the filmmakers said.

“In a time when people think things are impossible… they showed us how you build community,” King said after the screening.

The project was initiated by Michael Soenen, a venture capitalist who volunteered with the Healthy Rooms Project in Watts. In an interview on the “Let’s Go There” podcast, Soenen said he came to understand that for children in Watts, bedrooms mattered more than playgrounds because it was often too dangerous to play outside. That realization deepened his interest in the community.

At the Atlanta screening, Soenen said that during a police ride-along in Watts, he witnessed three shootings and one person die in just a few hours, none of which made the news. That experience prompted him to buy 20 iPhones and return to the community, asking 200 people, including residents, gang members and sex workers, to document their everyday lives. While only 20 accepted, their participation opened the door to many more voices.

Soenen later turned to his friend, former CNN journalist Suzanne Malveaux, and together they brought the project to the Aspen Institute. King said it was in Aspen that she first saw the film.

“It literally revolutionized my heart,” King said. “Watts has lit a fire. This has got to revolutionize this nation because we have got to turn around the violence, not just physically, but just the disregard for human dignity in this nation and hopefully the world.”

Following the screening, King and hip-hop artist Tip “TI” Harris moderated an onstage discussion with film participants, along with Soenen and Malveaux.

The participants retain ownership of the film. As directors, they decided what video  footage would be included and what would be left out of the final cut.

Malveaux said the process became a humanizing experience for everyone involved. There were tears and laughter, she said.

“It was the most courageous thing in my experience as a journalist that I’ve ever seen,” Malveaux said. “The power and the beauty of that… Everyone was able to see each other in a way that they hadn’t been able to before. So, it went beyond the stereotypes, the misconceptions, the things that… are covered on the news.”