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What You Gonna Do When the World's on Fire' is the story of a community of black people in the American South during the summer 2017, when a string of brutal killings of young African American men sent shockwaves throughout the country. A meditation on the state of race in America, this film is an intimate portrait into the lives of those who struggle for justice, dignity, and survival in a country not on their side. Italian-born, American based filmmaker Roberto Minervini's follow-up to his Texas Trilogy is a portrait of African-Americans in New Orleans struggling to maintain their unique cultural identity and to find social justice. Weaving masterfully between four wrenching storylines in New Orleans, the film observes Judy Hill, who strives to keep her family and friends afloat (financially, as much as emotionally) as her bar is threatened; the two young brothers Ronaldo and Titus, whose neighborhood is plagued by violence; Kevin, the Big Chief of the Indian tradition of Mardi Gras, who is keeping the cultural heritage of his people alive; and The New Black Panthers, who carry out a door-to-door people's investigation of a killing attributed to white supremacists.

Media

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Sales Points

• Certified Fresh with a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 87%
• First-of-its-kind documentary to delve into the civil unrest of the summer of 2017
• Winner of 13 Awards and another 10 nominations — including the Golden Lion for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival

Press Quotes

Staggering...a vital snapshot of African American life as it's being lived on the margins of society...one of the best films I've seen by far this year

     —Peter Canavase, Celluloid Dreams

Never once does his camera feel manipulative or judgemental, instead turning what could be your typical message documentary into one whose existence feels utterly essential

     —Joshua Brunsting, The CriterionCast

It's shot in black and white -- beautiful black and white, poetic black and white -- which is exactly the contrast that [director Roberto Minervini] means to present to put a poetic sheen on these very distraught stories

     —Wade Major, NPR Filmweeek

The film teems with beauty, as Minervini shows what Black people have always done when the world is on fire: live, organize, protect one another, and keep our history at the forefront

     —Tyler Montague, Film Comment