Riotsville, U.S.A.

Welcome to Riotsville, USA–a point in American history when the nation’s rulers–politicians, bureaucrats, police–were faced with the mounting militancy of the late 60s, and did everything possible to win the war in the streets. Using training footage of Army-built model towns called “Riotsvilles” where law enforcement were trained to respond to civil disorder, in addition to nationally broadcast news media, the film connects the stagecraft of “law and order” to the real violence of state practice. RIOTSVILLE, USA is a poetic and furious reflection on the rebellions of the 1960s-and the machine that worked to destroy them.