Experiencing Interruptions?

Catching Bullets

A generation ago, Darren sold dope. Behind a gun and a bullet-proof vest, he once made a name for himself in Walnut Park, one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in St. Louis — a city itself haunted by a perennially high murder rate. Now in his 50s and marked with the scars of 13 bullets, Darren buys a condemned church building in his old neighborhood and channels his energy into establishing a youth mentoring center, dedicated to breaking the cycle of violence he once perpetuated. When Preston, the 18-year-old son of Darren’s late friend, is tempted by the allure of street-level drug dealing, Darren pledges to save Preston from winding up in a jail cell or worse.

  • Ben Scholle
    Director
  • Derrick Phillips
    Producer
  • Ben Scholle
    Producer
  • Mike Gualdoni
    Co-Producer
  • Kevin Coleman-Cohen
    Associate Producer
  • Darren Seals
    Principal Collaborator
  • Preston Jones
    Principal Collaborator
  • Kateri Chapman-Kramer
    Content Advisor
  • Precious Jones
    Content Advisor
  • LJ Punch
    Content Advisor
  • Jamala Rogers
    Content Advisor
  • Lydia Wood
    Content Advisor
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 24 minutes 17 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 1, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    96,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED, Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase
    St. Louis, MO
    United States
    July 28, 2024
    World Premiere
    Best Documentary
  • Red Rock Film Festival
    Cedar City, UT
    United States
    September 28, 2024
    Utah Premiere
    Official Selection
  • DocuWest Film Festival
    Denver, CO
    United States
    October 17, 2024
    Colorado Premiere
    Marvin Booker and Michael Marshall Civil Rights Selection
  • Lake County Film Festival
    Greyslake, IL
    United States
    November 2, 2024
    Illinois Premiere
  • St. Louis International Film Festival
    St. Louis, MO
    United States
    November 9, 2024
Distribution Information
  • BloodSweatHoney
    Sales Agent
    Country: United States
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Ben Scholle

Director, Ben Scholle, completed his first feature documentary in 2005. HairKuTT followed a barber struggling to kick his heroin addiction. It was selected for MoMA’s Documentary Fortnight and aired on BET and the Documentary Channel. It also played theatrically in Indianapolis and Boston and screened in schools and universities nationwide. Scholle’s recently completed third feature film, The Worst Crime, examines the story of a capital murder case from 2002, provoking questions about the death penalty and mental illness. The film is distributed in the US by Cineverse. Ben Scholle is a senior professor of cinema at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO.

Producer, Derrick Phillips, is a filmmaker and activist based in the St. Louis area. He earned a BA in Cinema Arts from Lindenwood University in 2011. He covered the Ferguson protests extensively, beginning in 2014, and he has created relationships with protesters, community organizers, activists, and politicians. In 2020, on the eve of the pandemic, he partnered with Ben Scholle to document anti-gun violence efforts in the city of St. Louis.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Director’s Statement

St. Louis is a notoriously divided community in terms of race, health, education, wealth, and more, but the news of 13 children killed by bullets in the summer of 2019 struck us all profoundly. In the city, neighborhoods both north and south of the “Delmar Divide” felt the pain of loss. Gun violence in St. Louis was nothing new, but it felt like it was spiraling out of control.

With each report of a new shooting, I found myself wondering who the shooters were. With the entire city on edge, what could be going on in the minds of the often very young people pulling the triggers? As the City of St. Louis adopted new public health-based approaches to violence prevention, Derrick Phillips and I decided to partner and tell the story in a way that would be deeper and more nuanced than the typical 90-second news package.

We began by partnering with different organizations, offering to create videos for them as a way of helping and learning about their work. While we gained deep understanding of all of our partners, the story of Darren Seals and the Sankofa Unity Center is the one that best represents the vastness of the problem, the complexity of the solutions, and the humanity of the community.

Producer’s Statement

I grew up in St. Louis with three brothers. By the age of 16, all four of us had been shot or stabbed. My interest in filmmaking began at age nine. By 13, I fell in love with basketball, but growing up on the west side of St. Louis, violence was a constant part of my upbringing. Escaping the hood at 18, I got my GED and went on to study filmmaking. 45 years later, I feel a need to share my experiences through film.

It’s easy to become numb to the news of violence, shootings, and deaths, but sometimes our outrage percolates. It can no longer be suppressed or contained. With this film, I hope to remind audiences how raw and real the losses can feel.