One of the greatest successes of an artist is to provide a platform for voice, especially if that voice has been suppressed, oppressed or silenced. In Fruitvale Station this is exactly what Ryan Coogler accomplishes. In the first moments of the film, the audience is confronted with cell phone footage of Oscar Grant being shot. Silenced. And yet from the darkness of the screen we hear his voice, discussing his new year's resolutions with his girlfriend Sophina. From the darkness of the moment ...

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