Available free to stream in the US via Vice’s Short List:
DOPE IS DEATH
Director:
Mia Donovan
World Premiere:
True/False 2020
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, IDFA, Hot Docs, Denver
About:
The story of a pioneering acupuncture detoxification program led by the Black Panthers and the young Lords in 1970s South Bronx.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
With blight ravaging New York City in the 1970s, the Young Lords and Black Panthers fought for radical change in their communities. Through the leadership of Dr Mutulu Shakur—Tupac Shakur’s stepfather—these activists created the first acupuncture detoxification program in the United States. While the legacy of the program has long been maintained by the residents of the Bronx and Upper Manhattan, the individuals responsible for its creation have suffered from decades of state-sanctioned persecution.
what (not) to doc 