It was a red carpet event in downtown Detroit at the Fox Theatre for the much anticipated premier of the movie Detroit - which depicts the events leading up to the Algiers’s incident during the 1967 riots.
Three black men were killed by police during the civil unrest that broke out across the city 50 years ago.
We spoke to the cast of the film as they hit the red carpet. They say this film shows some things have changed when it comes to race in America.
They also say, sadly, some things haven’t.
“It’s a crazy story,” says star John Boyega. “I think this is something that is worth the perspective.”
Boyega, the lead actor in the movie, says the depiction of what happened in 1967 inside the Algiers Motel is something the world must see.
The film’s director Kathryn Bigelow also says the film is an important piece of the city’s history.
“I feel honored to tell this story,” says Director Kathryn Bigelow. “It needs to see the light of day”
Social activist and native Detroiter Michael Eric Dyson was also in attendance on the red carpet. He believes the story is one of the past and unfortunately - still - the present.
“The harassment, the hurt, the pain,” he says. “Lots of things have gotten better but a lot hasn’t.”
Will Poulter, who starred in movies like the Chronicles of Narnia, says this movie is an important chronicle of Detroit - as well as the story of race in America.
As the cast of Detroit made their way down the red carpet with all eyes on Detroit, Boyega says he hopes to put all eyes on the racial tensions that existed 50 years ago and unfortunately those that still exist today.
“I am really about this story and about the change this may spark,” he says.
This Friday the film will have a limited release in select theaters. Then on august 4th it opens worldwide.
