Down a Dark Stairwell chronicles the tragic shooting in Brooklyn of Akai Gurley, an innocent Black man, and the trial of the Chinese American police officer, Peter Liang, who pulled the trigger, casting a powerful light on the experiences of two marginalized communities thrust into an uneven criminal justice system together.
With America reeling at the time from the killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, and activists nationwide calling for police reform, Gurley’s death further inflamed the residents of New York City. Cries of police brutality rang out in protest over a pronounced pattern of police officers, mostly white, avoiding criminal prosecution. Officer Liang, however, was convicted of second-degree manslaughter, making him the first NYPD officer in over a decade to hear a guilty verdict in such a case. This triggered a fresh wave of debate, including protests across New York City in support of Liang, with activists speaking out against the unjust treatment of Asian Americans and racial imbalances in the criminal justice system, calling into question whether his conviction was offered up in part to quell larger national unrest.
Filmed as these events unfolded, and featuring interviews with Akai Gurley’s family and loved ones, local community members, and activists and organizers within the Asian American and African American communities, Down a Dark Stairwell offers a gripping, intimate look at the painful aftermath of Gurley’s death.
The Filmmaker
Ursula Liang is a storyteller who has crafted narratives in a wide range of media. She has worked for The New York Times, ESPN The Magazine, Asia Pacific Forum on WBAI, StirTV, the Jax Show, and Hyphen magazine. Her credits include Tough Love (POV), Wo Ai Ni Mommy (POV), and One October. The film won numerous awards, including the CAAMFest 2015 Grand Jury Prize, and aired on public television’s America ReFramed series.
ABC * ABC 7 New York * AP Video Archive * Cat April Watters * CBS New York * CCTV *
Chinese Radio Seattle * CNN * FlotasticTV * Frank Zhao (Frank USA) * Fox News *
Fox5 NY * Happy Learning * Jeff Chen * Jimmy Chiu * Jose LaSalle * Juliane Dressner * Kim Ballinger * News 12 Brooklyn * News 12 / Dana Arschin * Nick Capezzera * Peng Guo * RebootNY *
Ruptly * Shirley Ng * Shu Sen Wu * SinoVision * South China Morning Post *
StanfordJournalism/Produced by Carolyn Zhang, Peninsula Press * Stephanie Keith * Strong Lanes * The Peter Elisu Archives * The Wigwam * Thomas Ong * tieshustudio * Undead News * Univision *
Vic Huey * WJ Mona * World Journal and Xiaoyuan Luo * WPIX * Yijie Zhu
Additional Images:
Alexandra A. Chaidez & Samuel W. Zwickel / The Harvard Crimson, Inc. *
Amanda Y. Su / The Harvard Crimson, Inc. * AP Photo / Harold Filan * Bettmann via Getty Images *
Bev Grant via Getty Images * Delano Franklin / The Harvard Crimson, Inc. *
James L. Amos via Getty Images * Jonah S. Berg / The Harvard Crimson, Inc. *
Kevin R. Wexler / North Jersey Media Group * Leroy Henderson * Les Talusan / Getty Images *
Mary Wing Yee * New Amsterdam News * NY Daily News *
Robert W. Kelley / The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images * Robert Wu * Ruptly *
Salwan Georges / The Washington Post * Spencer Platt via Getty Images * The Boggs Center *
The New York Post * The New York Times * The Wall Street Journal * The Yuri Kochiyama Estate
"Elephant In The Room"
Written by Scott Jung, Andrew Orkin, Raymond Smith.
Performed by Pretty Boi G and Chops.
Courtesy of CHOPSmusic.
Special Thanks
A-Doc
Samir Bhana
Joe Brewster
Brown Girls Doc Mafia
Jerry Chan
Julia Chang
Samantha Chanse
Michael Chung
Leigh Christy
Andrew Cohn
Owen Cooper
Trish Dalton
Cheree Dillon
Ezra Edelman
Film Fatales
Film Independent Documentary Lab
Nadia Hallgren
Shayla Harris
Lisa Hasko
Hedgebrook Documentary Lab
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival Emerging Filmmaker Retreat
Ren Hsieh
IFP Week
Impact Partners Documentary Producers Fellowship
International Documentary Association
IRP's Professional Workshop for Independent Filmmakers
Sonia Kennebeck
Rebecca Kent
Lauren Kushner
Corky Lee
Grace Lee
Chag Chag Leon
Minnie Li
Julia Main
Dan Marwit
MVMT
Vincent Pan
Thom Powers
Louisy Raymond
Melanie Riley-Green
Lia Rodriguez
Mosi Secret
Rachel Shuman
Paula Silver
Jeff Sousa
Leslie Tai
Lynn True
Nicole Tsien
Union Docs
Vanessa Upson-Harper
Hansi Lo Wang
Stephanie Wang Breal
Carrie Weprin
Seth Freed Wessler
Wing On Wo & Co
John Woo
Pamela Yates
Eugene Yi
Helen Zia
Fiscal Sponsor
Women Make Movies
Production Support Provided by
Chicken & Egg Pictures
Tribeca Film Institute
Production Assistance Provided by
TFI/A&E Indie Films Story Lab
Funding Provided by
Ford Foundation | JustFilms
Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program
New York State Council on the Arts
Firelight Media Next Step Media Fund
David Chan
Original Series Funding Provided by
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Wyncote Foundation
The National Endowment for the Arts
DOWN A DARK STAIRWELL is a co-production of PLAG Documentary, LLC, the Independent Television Service (ITVS), and Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
This program was produced by PLAG Documentary, LLC which is solely responsible for its content.