Documenting the history of conflict between the Portland police and community members over the past 50 years, Arresting Power features personal stories of resistance told by victims of police misconduct, the families of people who were killed by police, and members of Portland’s reform and abolition movements. Utilizing meditative footage taken at sites of police violence, experimental filmmaking techniques, and archival newsreel, the documentary creates a space for understanding the impacts of police violence and imagining a world without police.

A conversation with Arresting Power co-directors Julie Perini '00 and Jodi Darby, Hardis Family Assistant Professor of Government Sabrina Karim, and Cornell Cinema Director Mary Fessenden took place on September 23, 2020.