“Baltimore in Black and White”

“Baltimore in Black and White” tells the story of one family’s complex reaction to a violent tragedy. Filmmaker Emily Topper’s grandfather was the victim of a murder in Baltimore in 1972 that no one understood.  Emily grew up in Baltimore in the aftermath where no one really talked about it. Now, from behind a camera, she asks why.

Told in the first person, this feature-length documentary is a close-to-the-bone examination of one family, one murder, and one troubled city, and reveals an America still far from post-racial. Ultimately, the film offers a critique of the current drive toward colorblindness, but also – through an honest examination of our history, our institutions, and ourselves – a new way forward.

Shot over three years in Baltimore, Maryland, the film is being Executive Produced by Ron Yerxa and Albert Berger of Bona Fide (“Crumb”, “Little Miss Sunshine”, & “Cold Mountain”) and Chicken & Egg Pictures.  It has participated in IFP’s Spotlight on Documentaries and Good Pitch in 2011. In Spring of this year, Joe Bini (“Grizzly Man,” “Cave of Forgotten Dreams,” “We Need to Talk about Kevin”) joined our team, also as Executive Producer.

Baltimore in Black and White has been the grateful recipient of the International Documentary Association Pare Lorentz Fund Award, The Pacific Pioneer Fund Award, and the San Francisco Film Society’s Herbert Family Documentary Award.  It has also received grants from the Abell Foundation and the Lois and Irving Blum Foundation.