Finding Langston

In 1992, Yance Ford's brother William was shot and killed by a white mechanic in Long Island. No one was charged. A quarter of a century later, Ford turns the camera on the family, the case and the legal system that decided what counted as fear. The film is quiet, direct, and built from interviews with his mother, sister and the people who knew William.

Why it’s here: It's a film about a family told that its grief did not count. What's punk is how still it is: no reenactments, just faces and a legal system on the record. What's pedagogical is how it shows the machinery of a verdict, which turns out to be a story about who is allowed to be afraid. Pairs with Just Mercy, The New Jim Crow and Between the World and Me. Note: PG-13/R; discusses a killing and its aftermath; slow and personal; adults and mature teens. English.

Jess is a British Punjabi eighteen-year-old in West London who plays soccer better than anyone in her park, and her parents want her to learn to cook a full Indian dinner. She joins a women's team behind their backs, falls for her coach, and has to find a way to be both daughters at once. It's a comedy with a wedding, an ugly sports bra and a lot of heart.

Why it’s here: The film makes a joke out of the fight between family expectations and a girl's ambition, and the girl wins on her own terms. What's punk is that Jess isn't asked to choose between her people and her game. What's pedagogical is how it handles racism, sexism and homophobia in a form a family can watch together. Pairs with Persepolis and Funny Boy.