Ricochet

A surprising number of Americans make their living off America's vast rivers of trash. These are America's unseen. Dogtown Redemption tells the story of one river, and the humanity of its inhabitants in Dogtown, West Oakland, a lively, bustling yet invisible corner of California. We follow the lives of three recyclers: Jason Witt, the titan of recycling, Landon Goodwin, a former minister, and crack addict who struggles with his own fall from grace, and Miss Hayok Kay, the ultimate outsider, formerly a punk rocker from a prominent Korean family, now at the mercy of the elements and predators. Through them, we are introduced to the art, science, economics and politics of recycling: what it offers, how it touches the poor and why it matters to all of us.

Jeff Adachi is a public defender in San Francisco who takes on the misdemeanor case of 22-year-old Michael Smith, who pleaded not guilty in one of the first body camera cases in the city when he was charged with nine counts of resisting arrest. This urgent documentary shows how far Adachi and his team will fight for the young man’s freedom while exposing black-crime bias in ostensibly liberal SF.