How does a 16-year-old honor student become a bank robber? The powerful Spike-Lee-produced Evolution of a Criminal, which starts its Detroit-exclusive premiere run on Friday, October 24, attempts to answer this question. First-time director Darius Clark Monroe turns the camera on his own life in this gripping and surprising film that tells the story of his journey from model youth to teenage criminal, from rehabilitation to becoming a university professor.

This poignant and unflinching feature documentary, which had its world premiere at the prestigious South by Southwest Film Festival, is both a personal reflection and a look at the larger issues of economic justice, race, prisons and becoming a man in America today.

In addition, there will be two Q & A opportunities at Cinema Detroit — Director Darius Clark Monroe will be joining us via Skype for Q & As on Friday, October 24 after the 7:30 p.m. show and on Tuesday, October 28 after the 7:30 p.m. show. The Q & As will be moderated by Asadullah Saed Muhammad, a poet and writer, who has had a ten-year career in education and youth development focused primarily on the advancement of New York City court-involved and incarcerated youth, cultural rites of passage programming for young black boys, and public school education reform in the cities of Atlanta, New Orleans, New York, and now Detroit. Asadullah works in high schools in Metro Detroit to raise high school graduation rates.

In 1997, watching his mother and stepfather struggle to make ends meet while living outside of Houston, Texas, the then-teenaged Monroe decided to help them by robbing a bank with two friends. Ten years later, now a graduate student at New York University’s internationally recognized film program, he returns to his neighborhood to confront for himself the history and demons he had tried to leave behind. As a filmmaker, he interviews family members, close friends and mentors as his dramatic and painful transformation is candidly brought to life on screen. The innocent bystanders who happened to be at the bank on that fateful day remember the events vividly, as Monroe asks for their forgiveness.

Evolution of a Criminal is not only a story of a good kid gone bad, but a moving and insightful portrait of the wider society — poverty, the struggles of the African-American community, and the importance of family.

“Incredibly cinematic…deeply involving…truly unique.” — Indiewire

“Its images, its shape, its tone, and its implications make it a terrific movie, as well as the birth of an artist.” — The New Yorker

Evolution of a Criminal
Documentary – NR – 84 min – Tickets $10 — Get tickets online
Fri, Oct. 24: 7:30 p.m. + Skype Q & A with director Darius Clark Monroe after the screening
Sat, Oct. 25: 7:30 p.m.
Sun, Oct. 26: 5:30 p.m.
Mon, Oct. 27: 7:30 p.m.
Tues, Oct. 28: 7:30 p.m. + Skype Q & A with director Darius Clark Monroe after the screening
Weds, Oct. 29: 7:30 p.m.
Thurs, Oct. 30: 7:30 p.m.
Fri, Oct. 31: 7:30
Sat, Nov. 1: 7:30
Sun, Nov. 2: 5:30
Mon, Nov. 3: 7:30
Tues, Nov. 4: 7:30
Wed, Nov. 5: No Screening
Thurs, Nov. 6: 7:30
Sat, Nov. 8: 4:00 p.m. + Skype Q & A with director Darius Clark Monroe after the screening

Download the Evolution of a Criminal flyer here. [PDF, 1 MB]