Children of Violence:
Produced for the PBS documentary series “Crisis to Crisis,” Bill Jersey and Jim Belson's latest film chronicles the lives and deaths of members of the ”'60s Gang of East Oakland,” in particular the lives of four brothers: 13-year-old George; Dancin' Dan, his older brother hospitalized after being shot in the stomach; Bean, the 17-year-old gang leader; and Jerry, whom we see end up in jail. Their mother, Olivia, spends an enormous amount of time and energy on the move between her kitchen, juvenile hall and the hospital to care for them. While the film records the occasional joys, the focus is on the prevailing violence and terror in these young people's lives. The filmmakers lived close to the group for several months and their portrait is little short of chilling.