Short Form Video: With one of the highest crime rates in the world, South Africans are struggling to live in a country where they feel they are at the mercy of criminals and that the police cannot protect them. An average of fifty people a day are murdered in South Africa. It also has the highest rape rate in the world. Torture, assault and rape often go hand in hand with hijackings and robberies, making the threat of crime so much more terrifying to the average citizen.

THESE STREETS BELONG TO US looks at how ordinary South Africans are coping with the scourge of crime and violence. The film tells of three different Johannesburg communities: Kensington, a middle class suburb that is jolted into action after a street security guard is murdered while on duty; Alexandra, a mostly poor black township that has formed a community policing forum that patrols the streets in an unconventional way and lends a helping hand to the overburdened police; and Hillbrow, a densely populated inner city neighborhood, which was a “no go” zone for police for many years, but is now undergoing massive regeneration.

THESE STREETS BELONG TO US is an eye-opening and inspiring look at how neighbors from disparate lives become empowered to stand up and take back their community, with a hopeful vision of the future.

Directed, Written, Produced by Lisa Henry and Shareen Anderson.

Festivals/Awards:

Africa World Documentary Film Festival, St. Louis, United States
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival - Winner, Spirit of Independents Award
Jozi Film Festival, Johannesburg, South Africa

A Left Hand Films & Fort Greene Filmworks Co. Production, 2010.