Riotsville, U.S.A. (2022) Plot Summary Explained

Release, runtime and language

2022 · 91 min · English

Echo score 46

#3,199 8

Directed by

Sierra Pettengill

Starring

Charlene Modeste

This documentary examines the unusual history of "Riotsvilles," experimental towns constructed in the 1960s to train police and military personnel in managing civil unrest. Through archival footage, director Sierra Pettengill reconstructs a period when America was preoccupied with maintaining law and order, revealing the methods used and the broader implications for institutional control. The film explores the unsettling reality of these training exercises and highlights the persistent echoes of racial tensions in American society.