Skip to main content
Riotsville, U.S.A. film image, director Sierra Pettengill

Riotsville, U.S.A.

This event has passed

Consisting entirely of government and TV news footage from the 1960s (with essayistic commentary and brief on-screen contextual notes), Sierra Pettengill’s transfixing nonfiction film harks back nostalgically to a period of widespread civil unrest in the United States, when Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, and dozens more inner cities went up in flames. In July 1967, President Johnson established the Kerner Commission to investigate. At much the same time, a mock town was built in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, to train military and police in containing civil disorders. They called it “Riotsville.”

Pettengill’s thesis is that the wave of protests (predominantly from the Black community) threw a spotlight on social inequity that could not be ignored. Indeed, the Kerner Report was no whitewash. In some areas, it became the fastest selling paperback since Valley of the Dolls. But for the most part its recommendations—including a universal income—were ignored or not properly funded. Meanwhile, budgets for police containment and riot control began to escalate with repercussions we still see today.

Director
Credits
Country of Origin

USA

Year

2022

Language

English

Film Contact
Links
18+

At The Cinematheque & International Village

19+

At The Rio

91 min
Drama Human Rights & Social Justice Women Directors

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

Dir. Nick Park & Merlin Crossingham
79 min

Aardman Animation's handcrafted mix of dad jokes, slapstick, mock dramatics and understated emotion makes this return for the claymation odd couple a constant delight. The villainous Feathers McGraw is back to no good, commandeering Norbot the robot. Rated: G

VIFF Centre - Vancity Theatre VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Gremlins (40th Anniversary)

Dir. Joe Dante
110 min

The perfect last minute Xmas gift: give your special someone a cute ball of fur and don't worry about where it came from. Just don't put it under bright lights, don't get it wet, and whatever you do, please, please don't feed it after midnight... Rated: PG

Image: © 1984 WBEI

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Count of Monte Cristo

Dir. Matthieu Delaporte & Alexandre de La Patelliere
178 min

You can't beat this evergreen Alexandre Dumas tale for adventure, intrigue and romance. This lavish French blockbuster from the writers of the recent Three Musketeers movies pulls you in from the first scene and doesn't let off for the next three hours. Rated: PG

VIFF Centre - Vancity Theatre

Nobody's Fool

Dir. Robert Benton
110 min

Paul Newman brings a seasoned, irascible charm to this wintery gem from director Robert Benton, based on Richard Russo's novel.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Who by Fire

Dir. Philippe Lesage
162 min

Jeff, a 17-year-old aspiring filmmaker, goes on vacation with his friend Max and his family to an isolated lodge. Philippe Lesage’s film is a tense, mesmerizing tour de force that is both agonizing and cathartic. A Berlinale award winner.

VIFF Centre - Vancity Theatre

The Holdovers

Dir. Alexander Payne
133 min

Destined to become a seasonal staple, this bittersweet comedy reunites Sideways director and star Alexander Payne and Paul Giamatti in the portrait of a surly classics teacher forced to babysit five "orphans" at boarding school over the holidays.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Credits

Executive Producer

Charlotte Cook, Michael Y. Chow, Sue Turley, Grace Lay, Sumalee Montano

Producer

Sara Archambault, Jamila Wignot

Screenwriter

Tobi Haslett

Editor

Nels Bangerter

Original Music

Jace Clayton

Director

Sierra Pettengill headshot, Riotsville, U.S.A. director

Sierra Pettengill

Sierra Pettengill’s work focuses on the warped narratives of the American past. Most recently, she directed the archival short The Rifleman, which premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Her 2017 feature-length documentary, The Reagan Show, premiered at the Locarno Film Festival before airing on CNN. In 2013, she produced the Academy Award-nominated film Cutie and the Boxer, which also won an Emmy Award for Best Documentary. She was a Sundance Institute Art of Nonfiction Fellow, a fellow at the Yaddo and MacDowell artist colonies, and is a board member of Screen Slate.

Filmography: Town Hall (2013); The Reagan Show (2017)