At a powderkeg moment in American policing, THE FORCE goes deep inside the embattled Oakland Police Department as it struggles to confront federal demands for reform, the rise of #BlackLivesMatter and an explosive scandal.

 
 
 
 

A KINO LORBER RELEASE OF AN OPEN’HOOD ITVS AND FORD FOUNDATION JUST FILMS PRESENTATION “THE FORCE” DIRECTED BY PETER NICKS PRODUCED BY LINDA DAVIS LAWRENCE LEREW PETER NICKS EDITED BY LAWRENCE LEREW CINEMATOGRAPHY PETER NICKS MUSIC BY JUSTIN MELLAND SOUND RECORDING BY LAWRENCE LEREW WRITTEN BY LINDA DAVIS LAWRENCE LEREW PETER NICKS ASSOCIATE PRODUCER SEAN HAVEY EXECUTIVE PRODUCER JON ELSE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER FOR ITVS SALLY JO FIFER EXECUTIVE PRODUCER FOR INDEPENDENT LENS LOIS VOSSEN

THE FORCE IS A CO-PRODUCTION OF OPEN’HOOD, INC. AND THE INDEPENDENT TELEVISION SERVICE (ITVS) WITH FUNDING PROVIDED BY THE FORD FOUNDATION AND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING

 
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ABOUT

Sprawling, immediate, and complex, Peter Nicks’s vérité documentary moves like a pulsing, timely thriller. In 2014, after over a decade of federal monitoring for misconduct and civil rights abuses, the Oakland Police Department hires Chief Sean Whent—a young, clear-eyed idealist—in hopes of bridging an historically tense divide between its officers and the community they serve.

Whent’s intentions and calls for transparency are immediately met with enthusiasm, but as his tenure begins, the realities of his department’s scandal-plagued past coincide with fresh accusations of brutality and harassment.

The Force  captures everything; it hovers over Oakland’s evening skies and rides inside speeding police vehicles, granting viewers breathless firsthand access to some of law enforcement’s most dangerous jobs. With fly-on-the-wall intimacy, we see a department trapped in transition, desperate to shed its corrupt image but also challenged by an increasingly organized and urgent Black Lives Matter movement erupting right outside its doorstep.

 

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PRESS

LOS ANGELES TIMES

Oakland Police Department documentary 'The Force' advocates for the truth

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

'Force' a bold and honest tour of Oakland police drama

KQED FORUM

Peter Nicks’ Documentary ‘The Force’ Looks Deep Inside the Oakland Police Department

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

Director Nicks approaches Oakland police documentary with an open mind

SF WEEKLY

'The Force' A look at a Bay Area police department

KALW

Your Call: The Force follows scandal-plagued Oakland Police Department

HOODLINE

Police Documentary 'The Force' Is 2nd Film In Oakland Director's Trilogy

KQED ARTS

Top 10 Hottest Tickets at the San Francisco International Film Festival

SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

Top 10 picks for San Francisco International Film Festival

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

THE FORCE nabs Director's Prize at Sundance

VARIETY

Sundance Film Review: ‘The Force’

SCREEN INTERNATIONAL

Sundance 2017: The stand-out documentaries

FILMMAKER MAGAZINE

“The Notion of Truth Is Being Challenged”: Director Peter Nicks | The Force

THE GUARDIAN

The Force review – admirably layered police documentary falls short at climax

SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

Oakland Police Department subject of Sundance documentary

POP MATTERS

'Wind River' + 'The Force'

PARK CITY TV

Mountain Morning Show : The Force

ROLLING STONE

25 Movies We Can't Wait to See at Sundance 2017

SAG INDIE

Our SUNDANCE ’17 Movie Picks

NEW YORK TIMES

Sundance Film Festival 2017: Four Films to Know

LOS ANGELES TIMES

Sundance Film Festival 2017 likely to feel more political, on purpose or not

SF FILM SOCIETY

In Focus: Pete Nicks on The Oakland Police Project

 

MEDIA INQURIES
NANCY WILLEN (ACME PR)
310.963.3433
NANCYWILLEN@ACMEPR.NET

SALES
CINETIC MEDIA
555 W. 25TH STREET, 4TH FLOOR
NEW YORK, NY 10001
212.204.7979
LINZEE TROUBH
LINZEE@CINETICMEDIA.COM

PRESS KIT
PRESS KIT INCLUDES BIOS, HEADSHOTS, LOGLINE, SYNOPSIS, PUBLICITY STILLS
Download Press Kit

 
 
 

MEDIA INQURIES
NANCY WILLEN (ACME PR)
310.963.3433
NANCYWILLEN@ACMEPR.NET

SALES
CINETIC MEDIA
555 W. 25TH STREET, 4TH FLOOR
NEW YORK, NY 10001
212.204.7979
LINZEE TROUBH
LINZEE@CINETICMEDIA.COM

PRESS KIT
PRESS KIT INCLUDES BIOS, HEADSHOTS, LOGLINE, SYNOPSIS, PUBLICITY STILLS
Download Press Kit

 

CONTACT

 
 
 

FUNDING FOR THE FORCE FILM PROVIDED BY