Street Fight

In 2002 there is a mayoral election in Newark, New Jersey. Standing against Sharpe James, in office for sixteen years, is Cory Booker, a young city councilman. Both are Black, both are Democrats; the campaign quickly turns into an argument about who is really from Newark. It is a hard race, on the street, door to door. Marshall Curry's documentary follows the campaign from the inside. Curry shot most of it alone with a handheld camera and was obstructed at times. The film was nominated for an Oscar in 2006. The telling stands on Booker's side, but it also shows the real weight of the campaign: how local politics works, who is tied to whom, and where the pressure comes from.