The bewildering elements that sparked the powder keg of LA street gang violence are meticulously uncovered in the film, Lay Down Old Man. A two-film-in-one documentary about the history of the Bloods and the Crips, it provides a connecting history of the rival gangs as told by two of its respective founding members. Greg "Batman" Davis (East Side Crips), and T Rodgers (Black P Stone Bloods) grew up as leaders within their own sets, and like their gang colors each provides a varied outlook here; Batman shares his extensive photo archive charting his life as a gang-banger. While the point of view of Rodgers is chronicled by a day the life in "The Jungle", where he's seen struggling to keep the peace, director Nemo Librizzi, who's worked as a novelist, graphic artist, and filmmaker and a graffiti artist, creates an unforgettable portrait of two aging warriors. The film is a fascinating look into the lives of these gangs, both negative offshoots of the Black Panthers and formed in Los Angeles circa 1969, and how today the two groups are now represented in every major city across the country. And it explores how, Batman and T Rodgers, now respected OG's in their communities work diligently to put an end to the cycle of violence they helped to perpetuate. The film features music by The Last Poets, Pharoah Sanders, Bill Laswell and Parliament Funkadelic.

Directed by

Nemo Librizzi