SARATOGA SPRINGS — A Zoom discussion of the film Fruitvale Station will be held 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 15.
The event is presented by Saratoga Jewish Community Arts, with a grant from the Jewish Federation of Northeastern NY and sponsored by Temple Sinai.
Fruitvale Station, released in 2013, written and directed by Ryan Coogler in his directorial debut, is based on the events leading to the death of Oscar Grant III, 22, killed in 2009. In the early hours of Jan. 1, 2009, unarmed and lying face down on a subway platform in Oakland, California, Grant was shot in the back by a white Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer.
The incident, captured on video by onlookers, incited protest, unrest, and arguments similar to those that would swirl around the killing of Trayvon Martin in Florida a few years later. The deaths raise tough and fundamentally troublesome issues of law and order, violence, and race.
“The juxtaposition of black and white, good and bad creates many questions and some anxiety for the viewers of Fruitvale Station,” says Phyllis Wang, Coordinator of SJCA. “It also provides ample opportunity to support meaningful discussions about where we as a society and where we, as a court system, need to go to solve the problems depicted in the movie. The film presses its audience to realize that all human lives deserve basic dignity.”
Registration to the panel discussion is required. Registration and access are available at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Discover more about the Saratoga Jewish Cultural Festival atsaratogajewishculturalfestival.org or saratogasinai.org
