This recounting of the circumstances running up to the shooting of Oscar Grant III at Fruitvale Station in Oakland, California makes for an engrossing docu-drama rooted in standout performances from Jordan as Oscar Grant and Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer as his mother. For his first feature Coogler had unfettered access both to the legal documents surrounding the case and to Grant’s family. His unashamedly partisan approach to Grant’s story has caused controversy in the US, with it being criticised by some as romanticised and/or manipulative.

The film cleaned up on the Festival circuit, particularly at Sundance, with a number of audience awards reflecting the compelling and moving nature of the film. Its screening by WFC could not, sadly, be more timely in the wake of the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Eric Garner (Coogler has, along with Selma director Ava DuVernay, expressed solidarity with the Ferguson protesters).

“a tough and moving drama … a humanist gesture of faith”. Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian.

“emotionally wrenching … Ryan Coogler … hasn’t given us a campaigning or polemical account … he’s zeroed in on the meaning of Oscar’s life” Tim Robey, The Telegraph