Riotsville, U.S.A. (dir. Sierra Pettengill) x VIFF 2022.
It’s a remarkably disquieting documentary composed entirely of pre-existing archival footage about the titular 1960s military program to combat rioting across American cities. Building a makeshift town in order to train soldiers and armed forces acts as a compelling indictment of the U.S.’ institutional police state. Pettengill assembles an engrossing and deeply troubling look back at the government’s plan for managing civil unrest by controlling various citizen uprisings and labelling protestors as “agitators”. By extensively using real, publicly-accessible footage to explain what “Riotsville” was, the film feels ironically even more surreal and dystopian despite chronicling fifty years in the past.
Screening at the 2022 Vancouver International Film Festival as part of the Spectrum series at The Cinematheque on Oct. 9.
