Real Estate
A generation ago, Darren sold dope. With a gun and a bullet-proof vest, he was known in St. Louis. When Preston, the son of Darren's late friend, is tempted by the streets, Darren pledges to save him…
Real Estate
A generation ago, Darren sold dope. With a gun and a bullet-proof vest, he was known in St. Louis. When Preston, the son of Darren's late friend, is tempted by the streets, Darren pledges to save him from ending up in a jail cell or worse. In the summer of 2019, the St. Louis community sees 13 children killed by bullets. Nationally, bullets emerge as the number one cause of death for children and teens. As in years before, news reporters interview grieving mothers, elected officials express outrage, and the community searches for answers and meaning in the tragedy. Unlike in the past, a new hope comes to light in public health-based approaches to violence prevention, driven at the grass roots by members of the community with the fewest resources but the most at stake. Catching Bullets follows Darren, a reformed ex-gangster whose life has been punctuated by the trauma of imprisonment and the impact of thirteen bullets. Now, at age 50, Darren buys a condemned church building in Walnut Park, one of the most violent neighborhoods in St. Louis. After decades of looking out only for himself, he finds purpose in establishing a youth mentoring center, dedicated to breaking the very cycle of violence he once perpetuated. In 2020, as the pandemic exacerbates existing social issues, Darren's mission gains new urgency. He mediates an escalating conflict between two young men. One is Preston, an 18-year-old street-level drug dealer and the son of Darren's late friend. Drawn by the seductive allure of the streets, Preston falls deeper into the street life, facing the risk of ending up in a jail cell or worse. While Darren renovates his building, he keeps contact with Preston, but his warnings are often met with casual indifference. With the youth mentoring center as the backdrop, Catching Bullets confronts the devastating consequences of gun violence and sheds light on the complexities of uplifting a community grappling with one public health crisis upon another. —Ben Scholle
Real Estate
Drama
Film Details
A generation ago, Darren sold dope. With a gun and a bullet-proof vest, he was known in St. Louis.
When Preston, the son of Darren's late friend, is tempted by the streets, Darren pledges to save him from ending up in a jail cell or worse. In the summer of 2019, the St. Louis community sees 13 children killed by bullets.
Nationally, bullets emerge as the number one cause of death for children and teens. As in years before, news reporters interview grieving mothers, elected officials express outrage, and the community searches for answers and meaning in the tragedy. Unlike in the past, a new hope comes to light in public health-based approaches to violence prevention, driven at the grass roots by members of the community with the fewest resources but the most at stake.
Catching Bullets follows Darren, a reformed ex-gangster whose life has been punctuated by the trauma of imprisonment and the impact of thirteen bullets. Now, at age 50, Darren buys a condemned church building in Walnut Park, one of the most violent neighborhoods in St. Louis.
After decades of looking out only for himself, he finds purpose in establishing a youth mentoring center, dedicated to breaking the very cycle of violence he once perpetuated. In 2020, as the pandemic exacerbates existing social issues, Darren's mission gains new urgency. He mediates an escalating conflict between two young men.
One is Preston, an 18-year-old street-level drug dealer and the son of Darren's late friend. Drawn by the seductive allure of the streets, Preston falls deeper into the street life, facing the risk of ending up in a jail cell or worse. While Darren renovates his building, he keeps contact with Preston, but his warnings are often met with casual indifference.
With the youth mentoring center as the backdrop, Catching Bullets confronts the devastating consequences of gun violence and sheds light on the complexities of uplifting a community grappling with one public health crisis upon another. —Ben Scholle.