London's Burning

Using CCTV footage of the actual riots that bedevilled parts of England in the summer of 2011, allegedly triggered by the shooting of unarmed Mark Duggan, the film omits any real motives beyond greed and vandalism as looters attack the shop to which elderly Duncan has devoted his life, hair-dressers Enzo and Onelia flee for their lives as their salon is attacked, and middle-class Jan and Nick provide a refuge for their neighbours. Gerry Campbell, the police district commander for Wandsworth, and his female assistant look on helplessly on their monitors as, due to being deployed in other areas, only eight riot officers are available to face a baying crowd of over three hundred, and a frustrated policeman attacks a young boy who is trying to defend, rather than loot, his father's record store. The film ends with statistics regarding the cost of the riots and how the victims have subsequently fared.