The film chronicles the 2014 police shooting and killing of a young 28-year-old Black father,
Peter Liang(who is not related to the filmmaker), a first-generation Chinese American, rookie NYPD officer and the first NYPD officer convicted for an on-duty shooting in
more than 15 years. As a filmmaker, Liang explores the experiences of two marginalized communities Black and Asian as they each navigate the legal system.
Watch a trailer from the film below
The documentary is eerily well-timed for what the nation’s sentiments are today, following mass protests against
anti-Asian hate. Liang gives an intimate view of Gurley’s family but not of Peter Liang, whom she reached out to but was not granted an interview with in less than 90 minutes. “Down a Dark Stairwell” also features activists from each community, who speak candidly about police brutality and racism. Additionally, the documentary gets up close and personal to reveal what oppression loo
In this episode of the True/False Podcast: a conversation from last year's festival between filmmakers Ursula Liang and Khalik Allah. Both were at True
Whatâs on TV This Week: âOur Townsâ and âBeethoven in Beijingâ
A documentary on HBO looks at small towns across America. And PBSâs âGreat Performancesâ revisits a pivotal 1973 classical music tour.
A scene from âOur Towns.âCredit.HBO
April 12, 2021
Between network, cable and streaming, the modern television landscape is a vast one. Here are some of the shows, specials and movies coming to TV this week, April 12-18. Details and times are subject to change.
Monday
INDEPENDENT LENS: DOWN A DARK STAIRWELL (2021)
10 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). On Nov. 20, 2014, a New York City police officer, Peter Liang, shot and killed Akai Gurley, 28, who was unarmed. (Liang was convicted of manslaughter in 2016.) Gurley was Black; Liang is Chinese-American. The killing prompted a particularly complex debate over police accountability, which the filmmaker Ursula Liang (who is not related to Peter Liang) explores in this new documentary.
DOWN A DARK STAIRWELL TO PREMIERE ON PBS AND THE PBS VIDEO APP ON APRIL 12, 2021Documentary Casts an Insightful Light on the Complexities of Police Reform in an Uneven Criminal Justice System
“Philly D.A.”, “The Donut King” join ‘Independent Lens’ spring slate PBS’s ‘Independent Lens,’ presented by ITVS, has laid out its spring slate of documentary programming, including the premiere of Ted Passon and Yoni Brook’s eight-episode docuseries Philly D.A.
This spring will . April 8, 2021
PBS’s ‘Independent Lens,’ presented by ITVS, has laid out its spring slate of documentary programming, including the premiere of Ted Passon and Yoni Brook’s eight-episode docuseries
Philly D.A.
This spring will also see additional programming under the strand’s recently announced Stories For Justice public media partnership.
Through a five-year pipeline of content centered on the issue of criminal justice, ‘Independent Lens’ and PBS will premiere more than 20 documentary films and docuseries cente