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Examine a racially complicated American city as it confronts both its past and future. Boston’s acting mayor, a black woman once bussed as a child to hostile neighborhoods, breaks 200 years of white male mayors and ushers in the historic 2021 mayoral race.
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Executive produced by Emmy-winning Bostonian Uzo Aduba and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Sam Pollard, and directed by Emmy-nominated filmmaker Daphne McWilliams, the feature documentary A Boston (R)Evolution examines one of America’s most racially complicated cities as it confronts not only its past but also its future.
When Kim Janey, a black woman who was bussed as a child to hostile neighborhoods, is catapulted to Acting Mayor, she breaks a 200-year history of white men in the city's top seat. Boston's traditional old school politics are further challenged when the top candidates in the historic 2021 mayoral race are four non-white women.
A Boston (R)Evolution amplifies an underheard community in a city stuck in a tug of war between deeply progressive policies and entrenched segregation, the best and worst schools, and a jaw-dropping wage gap. The film traces Mel King’s 1983 mayoral run and Boston’s busing crisis of the 1970s, setting the stage for candidates who never envisioned themselves in decision-making positions; elections that will be increasingly decided by Americans inspired to vote for the first time; and resistance from those uncomfortable with anything that threatens the status quo. A Boston (R)Evolution is a tight and fast-paced documentary that asks if America's bedrock city can finally confront its racist past.
Credits
Directed by Daphne McWiliiams
Produced by Jamie Gordon, Daphne McWiliiams and Carole Brennan
Executive Produced by Uzo Aduba, Sam Pollard and Mikaela Beardsley
Co-Executive Producers: Ruth Ann Harnisch and Harriet Lewis
Editor / Co-Producer: Rob Leshin
