Broken City Poets | Short Documentary

If a city becomes a ghost town, what happens to its youth?

"Broken City Poets” is a documentary that chronicles the lives of four high school students who are challenged to use poetry and journalism to make sense of their bankrupt, gang-ridden city.



The Center for Investigative Reporting and Youth Speaks, a San Francisco-based literary nonprofit hosted a series of poetry workshops in Stockton, California, in 2013. With nearly 300,000 residents, Stockton was the first large American city to file for bankruptcy and at one time was the nation’s foreclosure capital.

The students’ deadline for finishing their poems coincides with a citywide slam poetry competition whose winners will go on to compete in a national contest. During this journey, the students learn that language is a means of personal redemption, as well as a tool for social change.

Directed by Ariane Wu
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Ariane Wu
José Vadi
Michael I Schiller
Stephen Talbot

Executive Producers
Susanne Reber
Joaquin Alvarado
Hodari Davis

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Sound Design and Mix by
David Sandwisch and
Christopher Galipo

Music by
Marcus McCauley

Colorist
Zachary Medow

Titles
Rebecca Shumway

Starring
Joshua Merchant
Tama Brisbane
Jayda Daniels
Corey Baxter
Adrian Tyson Jr.
Alyssa Tinaco