THE PUSHOUTS

Directed by Katie Galloway and Dawn Valadez | Documentary Feature | USA, 60 mins | Montana Premiere

I was in prison before I was even born. So begins the story of Dr. Victor Rios who, by 15, was a high school dropout and gang member with multiple felony convictions and a death wish. But when a teacher’s quiet persistence, a mentor’s moral conviction, and his best friend’s murder converge, Rios’s path takes an unexpected turn. Through Rios’s personal lens and its interplay with the stories of the young people of Yo!watts, The Pushouts interrogates crucial questions of race, class & power – and the promise and perils of education – at a particularly urgent time.