Stanley Elam

Colors Straight Up

Directed by Michèle Ohayon, this Oscar-nominated documentary offers searing testimony from teens who have given up probable gang life for a chance at a real life. To this end, they've joined the nationally acclaimed after-school performing arts group Colors United. On this safe stage, kids of all races put down their guns and pick up Shakespeare, finding an alternative to gang culture as they strive to seize more from life.