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Rom-coms, heist flicks, a sports/horror mashup, a pair of Broadway musicals, a biopic of The Boss, festival award winners and lots of showbiz sagas — here's what NPR critics are watching this fall.
Why now: The weather's turning cooler, back-to-school shopping's all done and, sure, you could rake the leaves, but wouldn't it be more fun to escape to your local cinema?
Keep reading... for 28 films to watch for in the coming months.
The weather's turning cooler, back-to-school shopping's all done and, sure, you could rake the leaves, but wouldn't it be more fun to escape to your local cinema?
We've got you covered. Everything from rom-coms to heist flicks, a sports/horror mashup, a pair of Broadway musicals, a biopic of The Boss, festival award winners, and lots of showbiz sagas — all curated by NPR critics.
We'll see you at the movies.
Twinless, Sept. 5 (out now)
The second film from writer/director James Sweeney vindicates my admiration for his first film, Straight Up, which was funny, smart and sweet — but not too sweet. In Twinless, two young men (Sweeney and Dylan O'Brien) meet in a support group for people who have lost a twin. There's more to the story, of course, and Sweeney handles the various revelations adroitly, but he knows that stories like this live or die not by their twists alone, but in what happens after the truth comes out. — Glen Weldon
Riefenstahl, in limited theaters across the country this fall
Arguably the most controversial director in film history, Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl always denied having known about the Holocaust. She repeated those denials to producer Sandra Maischberger in a 2002 interview. When she died at 101 in 2003, Riefenstahl left 700 boxes of letters, film excerpts and other material to a foundation, and Maischberger offered to organize and catalog them if she could use them in a documentary. This more complete portrait also serves as a commentary on current events. — Bob Mondello
The History of Sound, Sept. 12
Music conservatory students Lionel (Paul Mescal) and David (Josh O'Connor) meet in 1917, bond over folk songs, and fall into a passionate, life-altering affair in Oliver Hermanus' elegiac period romance. Based on a short story by Ben Shattuck, the film shares narrative DNA with Annie Proulx's short story "Brokeback Mountain," but sings an altogether different tune, as the music-besotted pair traipse through ravishingly-shot hill country to capture folk songs before they disappear using wax cylinders. — Bob Mondello
The Long Walk, Sept. 12
One of Stephen King's bleakest stories is this 1979 tale (published under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman) of a competition in which a group of young men starts out walking, each having only one goal: walk longer than everybody else, because when you slow down, fall down, or misbehave, you'll be executed. An impressive cast including Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson and Mark Hamill seems promising, even though the story itself could not be more hopeless. Even for Stephen King, this one is dark. — Linda Holmes
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, Sept. 12
The bustling saga that seemed destined to go on forever is apparently coming to an end, which is not to say the Crawleys will go out with a whimper. Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) is handed the reins of the household, but is also involved in a public scandal; there's bad news from the American side of the family, and to add a bit of spectacle, the whole crowd heads for the races at Ascot. — Bob Mondello
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, Sept. 19
Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie play strangers who connect and take a road trip, only to stumble upon a door in the middle of the woods. That door, and others, lead them to revisit their respective memories and, presumably, confront some heavy emotional baggage. If anyone can make this work, it's director Kogonada, whose previous films Columbus and After Yang proved him adept at finding moments of poignancy and resonance. — Aisha Harris
Him, Sept. 19
Selling point 1: Exec-producer Jordan Peele who, based on promos, is not just slapping his name on here for visibility — he seems genuinely excited about it. Selling point 2: Marlon Wayans as a football legend who's now, apparently, the mentor from hell. He runs a training camp that looks grueling and creepy, and like the kind of place you might not make it out of alive. Is this Suspiria for football? The protagonist, a rising quarterback (Tyriq Withers), is about to find out.. — Aisha Harris
One Battle After Another, Sept. 26
Paul Thomas Anderson loosely adapts another Thomas Pynchon novel; this time it's Vineland. The movie's official logline reads: "When their evil enemy resurfaces after 16 years, a group of ex-revolutionaries reunites to rescue one of their own's daughter." It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Regina Hall, and Benicio del Toro. I don't need any more convincing. Do you? — Aisha Harris
Plainclothes, Sept. 19
Plainclothes, the debut feature from writer/director Carmen Emmi, features Tom Blyth as a closeted undercover cop in '90s New York City who's part of a sting operation that entraps and arrests gay men cruising for sex. He finds himself drawn to one of his potential targets, played by Russell Tovey. Critics out of Sundance were split on the film — some found Emmi's stylistic flourishes distracting — but Tovey and Blyth reportedly keep things grounded, emotional ... and sexy. That, too. — Glen Weldon
All of You, Sept. 26
It seems like the perfect moment for a Brett Goldstein rom-com, given his strong and funny showings in Ted Lasso and Shrinking. Here, Goldstein and Imogen Poots play best friends who think they might just want to be more, but a futuristic test that can identify soul mates tells them no — they are not meant to be. For years, they wonder whether to take the machine's word for it. With more and more people turning decisions over to robots, expect more and more stories like this. — Linda Holmes
The Smashing Machine, Oct. 3
Dwayne Johnson stars as the champion MMA fighter Mark Kerr, whose professional moniker gives the film its title. But the name that sets this biopic apart is that of Benny Safdie, the occasional actor and (with his brother Josh) director of the Adam Sandler stunner Uncut Gems. This solo directing effort is, if reviews from the Venice Film Festival are to be believed, more nuanced and intriguing than a conventional biopic. — Bob Mondello
Kiss of the Spider Woman, Oct. 10
This is the second film to adapt Manuel Puig's 1976 novel — although this latest version is technically an adaptation of the Tony-winning musical with a book by Terrence McNally, and music and lyrics by writing team Kander and Ebb. Two political prisoners in Argentina (Diego Luna and Tonatiuh) bond amid fantasies of a silver screen diva (Jennifer Lopez)(!). I'm hopeful, but keep in mind that writer/director Bill Condon wrote Chicago (great) and directed the live-action Beauty and the Beast (inert) — so this could go either way. — Glen Weldon
The Woman in Cabin 10, Oct. 10
Keira Knightley stars in the Netflix adaptation of Ruth Ware's thriller about a travel writer who finds herself trapped on a fancy yacht where something is very wrong. Specifically, she is certain a passenger was thrown overboard in the middle of the night, but no one seems to be missing. Ware just published a sequel called The Woman in Suite 11 (and both books are a lot of fun), so if this goes over well, expect to see Knightley back in this role before long. — Linda Holmes
Roofman, Oct. 10
Whenever Channing Tatum's wielding power tools, I'm interested — so count me in for this dramedy where he plays a real-life man who robbed dozens of restaurants by drilling holes in their roofs. By most accounts he was an amiable thief and no one was physically hurt, and the film's tone appears to be on the lighter side. Throw in a stacked supporting cast — Kirsten Dunst, Peter Dinklage, Uzo Aduba — and the chances of an entertaining time at the movies are through the (ahem) roof. — Aisha Harris
After the Hunt, in limited theaters Oct. 10, wide release Oct. 17
A popular college professor (Andrew Garfield) is accused of sexual assault by a promising grad student (Ayo Edebiri), in Luca Guadagnino's #MeToo drama. But the lynchpin in the drama is the student's mentor who is also the professor's closest friend (Julia Roberts). She's angling for tenure, and must decide what the optics are before she decides where to throw her support. — Bob Mondello
The Mastermind, Oct. 17
According to the positive reviews out of Cannes, the title of Kelly Reichardt's new heist movie is meant to be wry — Josh O'Connor plays an out-of-work suburbanite in the 1970s who turns to stealing art for cash, but has zero aptitude for thievery. With Reichardt though, we're always in capable hands, so this — along with a cast that includes Alana Haim, Bill Camp, Gabby Hoffman, and John Magaro — is a must-watch. — Aisha Harris
Blue Moon, in limited theaters Oct. 17, wide release Oct. 24
Lyricist Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke), who'd penned many Broadway shows (Pal Joey, Babes in Arms) and hundreds of songs ("My Funny Valentine," "The Lady Is a Tramp") with composer Richard Rodgers, is drowning his sorrows at the legendary showbiz hangout Sardi's on March 31, 1943. Why sorrows? Because it's opening night of Oklahoma!, the start of Rodgers' new partnership with Oscar Hammerstein II, and the birth of a new breed of musical that will eclipse everything Hart's ever done. Richard Linklater's been mulling this one for years. — Bob Mondello
Hedda, in theaters Oct. 22, on Prime Video Oct. 29
The actress Tessa Thompson starred in Nia DaCosta's impressive feature debut, Little Woods, and afterwards she appeared in DaCosta's The Marvels. It's nice to see them link up again in a non-superhero project. For this pairing they reimagine Henrik Ibsen's classic play Hedda Gabler, in which a general's daughter feels suffocated by her marriage and acts out in destructive, messy ways. Thompson's played a stifled wife in a period drama brilliantly before (the criminally underseen Passing), so we're almost certainly in for a treat. — Aisha Harris
Bugonia, in limited theaters Oct. 24, wide release Oct. 31
This U.S. remake of 2003's Save the Green Planet!, an incredibly dark, violent and twisted sci-fi comedy from Korea, will be directed by ... (checks notes) ... Yorgos Lanthimos. Which, you know. Makes sense. Two conspiracy theorists, convinced that a powerful CEO (Emma Stone) is an alien bent on destroying the Earth, kidnap and torture her. Dunno how, or if, the film will work once the truly unhinged original story gets filtered through Lanthimos' chilly aesthetic. But I'll be there to see. — Glen Weldon
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, Oct. 24
If Timothée Chalamet can learn to play guitar and sing as Bob Dylan, how could The Bear's Jeremy Allen White to do anything less while prepping to play New Jersey's blue-collar troubadour. Scott Cooper's biopic centers on the creation of Springsteen's iconic 1982 album Nebraska, during what was a troubled period for the singer. White reportedly spent months training with music coaches, and his efforts earned him a "sings very well" from the Boss himself after an on-set visit. — Bob Mondello
Nouvelle Vague, in theaters Oct. 31, on Netflix Nov. 14
It doesn't always go great when someone decides to make a movie about the making of a widely beloved and iconic movie (see: Hitchcock), but Richard Linklater's projects are consistently intriguing, at the very least, and quite often, great. The inventive filmmaker turns his focus to Jean Luc-Godard's Breathless, with Guillaume Marbeck playing the influential director, and Zoey Deutch and Aubrey Dullin as Jean Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo. And of course, it's shot in gorgeous black and white. — Aisha Harris
Nuremberg, Nov. 7
In this drama based on Jack El-Hai's nonfiction book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist, Russell Crowe plays Hitler confidant and Nazi leader Hermann Göring, and Rami Malek is Dr. Douglas Kelley, the U.S. army shrink tasked with determining whether Göring is mentally fit to stand trial. Director James Vanderbilt, having penned scripts for David Fincher's Zodiac and the crowd-pleasers White House Down and The Amazing Spider-Man, is turning a page here — appropriate, as the book is a page turner. — Bob Mondello
Sentimental Value, Nov. 7
Filmmaker Joachim Trier's follow up to the clear-eyed and unsparing The Worst Person in the World re-teams him with that film's co-screenwriter (Eskil Vogt) and its star (Renate Reinsve). Reinsve plays the estranged daughter of a filmmaker (Stellan Skarsgård) who reenters her life to offer her a starring role in his next movie. The catch: She'd be playing her own grandmother, who died by suicide. It's a lot, but I trust Trier to pilot these emotional waters without sliding into sentimentality. — Glen Weldon
Now You See Me: Now You Don't, Nov. 14
The cast keeps expanding in this magic-centric rob-from-the-rich-give-to-the-poor heist franchise, as if the writers saw Ocean's 11-13 and thought, "we could do that." New kids Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa and Ariana Greenblatt join original Horsemen (and hangers-on) Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman and Isla Fisher in pursuit of a priceless diamond. — Bob Mondello
Keeper, Nov. 14
We don't know much about director Osgood Perkins' follow-up to Longlegs and The Monkey, but what we do know is creepy as hell. Tatania Maslany and Rossif Sutherland play a couple who repair to a secluded cabin in the woods on their anniversary in a desperate attempt to reignite the romantic spark. What could possibly go wrong? I'm not as sold on Perkins as a lot of my fellow critics are, but I'm always intrigued by his command of the bones of horror — the infrastructure of a good scare. — Glen Weldon
Jay Kelly, Nov. 14
Director Noah Baumbach has surrounded George Clooney's title character with some heavyweight supporting talent — Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Adam Sandler, Patrick Wilson, Riley Keough, and Stacy Keach among others — but the film is all Clooney's from start to finish. It's about a movie star in his 60s who's suave, relaxed, always seems to be playing himself, and gives off a definite Cary Grant vibe — who is, in short, a lot like George Clooney. — Bob Mondello
Wicked: For Good, Nov. 21
The longest intermission in the history of musical comedy comes to an end Thanksgiving weekend when the second half of this Wizard of Oz origin story finally arrives at cinemas. Broadway audiences wait 15 minutes; movie audiences will have waited a year to find out what happens to Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), Glinda (Ariana Grande) and assorted hangers-on. To make it worth the wait, composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz has crafted two new songs. — Bob Mondello
Hamnet, in limited theaters Nov. 27, wide release Dec. 12
This movie comes with a serious pedigree: The terrific 2020 novel it's based on won the National Critics Book Circle Award. Author Maggie O'Farrell co-wrote the screenplay with director Chloé Zhao. It stars Jesse Buckley and Paul Mescal as Agnes and William Shakespeare as they grieve the death of their young son. Zhao's films are quiet and meditative — two words that may not slot easily into Eternals' superhero action but that resonate strongly with the emotional topography of loss. — Glen Weldon
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A new private foundation called The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA launched Thursday, aiming to raise $2 million to shore up county health services this year. It comes after the Department of Public Health closed seven clinics following $50 million in funding cuts since early 2025.
Who's behind it: The foundation's board includes Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, the CEOs of Blue Shield of California Foundation and LA Care Health Plan, actors Sean Penn and Danny Trejo and more. Board member Saree Kayne of the R&S Kayne Foundation pledged $150,000 at the launch. Ferrer acknowledged it's "a hard day" when a public agency has to turn to private donors to fund basic services.
Deeper cuts ahead: The federal "Big Beautiful Bill" slashes Medi-Cal funding, and the department anticipates losing up to $300 million over the next three years. Federal dollars account for nearly half the public health budget.
Some government funding streams for L.A. County’s public health system are drying up, and officials are turning to private philanthropy to fill the gap.
A new privately funded foundation launched Thursday to strengthen public health services after $50 million in federal, state and local funding cuts to the county’s Department of Public Health since early last year.
“It is really a hard day for our community when we have to ask for private donations to fund a public good, but unfortunately, we've lost too much money to not take this important step,” said Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.
In February, the county’s Public Health Department closed seven clinics, with six remaining open. About half of the patients seen in those clinics are uninsured, according to county officials. The department also cut hundreds of staff positions.
Ferrer is on the board of the new foundation, The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA, which held its first meeting Thursday.
She said the fund will help the county maintain its basic public health infrastructure, including disease prevention, health promotion, environmental health, and emergency response efforts.
Other board members include several health insurance executives, as well as actors Sean Penn and Danny Trejo. Board member Saree Kayne of the R&S Kayne Foundation pledged $150,000 to the fund Thursday. Kayne said she hopes the donation encourages others to give.
The foundation aims to raise $2 million this year.
L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell said it’s crucial to have an alternative funding stream to protect services for the county's most vulnerable residents.
“We are saving public health,” Mitchell said. “This fund represents a new approach, one that brings together government philanthropy in the private sector to invest in community-based solutions, protect vulnerable populations, and strengthen our public health infrastructure.”
Officials say more public health cuts are coming, through the federal budget law known as the "Big Beautiful Bill," which slashes funding for Medi-Cal.
The county Department of Public Health anticipates losing up to $300 million in revenue over the next three years because of the federal budget bill and other potential funding freezes. Federal funding accounts for almost 50% of the public health budget, according to county officials.
Mitchell also led an effort to put a half-percent county sales tax increase to fund public health on the June ballot.
If approved by voters, that proposal, known as Measure ER, is expected to raise about $1 billion a year for county safety net health services, including about $100 million for the public health department.
The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA announced its founding board of directors, which includes:
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Rep. Laura Friedman today announced that she secured $1 million for improvements to the water infrastructure at the aging Rose Bowl Stadium as it prepares for a global starring role in the LA28 Olympics.
Why it matters: The pipes may be working fine — for now — but the fear of backed-up toilets as the world watches is an ongoing worry at the venue.
Why now: Public officials have been pushing for spending to improve Olympic venues and surrounding areas as L.A. and other municipalities roll out the red carpet for the world to attend the Olympics. But they’ve hit road bumps and detours.
The backstory: The Rose Bowl is 103 years old and public officials have committed to spending $200 million to upgrade the Pasadena venue over the next two decades.
Go deeper: All the venues for the LA28 Olympics.
The Rose Bowl in Pasadena may be a centenarian, but it’s holding up pretty well as it continues to host events on its way to a starring role in the LA28 Olympics.
But before it can host the soccer final, it needs fixes, especially to the infrastructure serving the bathrooms and drinking fountains. Fears of a toilet backup while in the world’s spotlight led Rep. Laura Friedman to seek federal funds for upgrades. On Thursday she announced she secured just over $1 million.
“Two years from now, athletes around the world are going to compete for gold right where we are standing. This is not the time to find out whether or not these pipes are up to the task,” Friedman said.
The planned work, she added, will lead to improved water flow capacity and water drainage, eliminating the risk of backups and emergency maintenance.
The funds came from the House of Representatives Interior and Environment subcommittee. The fixes, an official said, will be completed by the LA28 Olympics.
The funds, however, are a drop in the bucket when it comes to what’s needed to make needed improvements to the Pasadena venue.
“Over the next 20 years there's about $200 million that we need to put in and that's everything from updating light fixtures to updating gas, water, wastewater lines, etc.,” said Dedan Brozino, president of the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, the nonprofit that supports the Rose Bowl stadium's preservation and enhancement.
The money is a much-needed win at a time when elected officials in city, county, state and federal offices have been struggling to find the funds to get L.A.-area venues ready for the global Olympic stage in two years.
A $360 million proposal to spruce up asphalt in parking lots around Exposition Park won’t be done in time for the Olympics, as originally planned. Meanwhile, just up the street, there’s concern that a $2.6 billion expansion of the L.A. Convention Center, which is hosting Olympic wrestling, fencing and judo in 2028 won’t be ready for the Olympics.
Additionally, to save money, LA28 organizers moved Olympic diving to the Rose Bowl complex last year because it has two Olympic-sized pools, while the Exposition Park complex doesn't and would need expensive upgrades.
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The zoo said it’s the first major breeding success in its Cape vulture habitat, which opened up last year. The chick now joins the zoo’s committee — that’s the name for a group of vultures.
About the chick: The chick hatched on March 14. The zoo opened its Cape vulture enclosure in February 2025 after years of planning to encourage the birds to roost and nest, welcoming a new breeding pair that year. When it grows to be an adult, it’ll have a wingspan of eight and a half feet.
About the enclosure: The L.A. Zoo said it spent years developing the vulture habitat, which was designed to mimic the vultures’ natural environment in South Africa. Dominick Dorsa II, the zoo’s director of animal care, said in a statement the successful hatching is “a testament to the design and construction” of the habitat.
How to see the chick: You can’t for the time being. Zoo officials are keeping it away from visitors until the chick matures, though you can still see adult Cape vultures at the zoo’s enclosure.
What zoo officials are saying: “Welcoming a Cape vulture chick is a thrilling moment for our team and a beacon of hope for African vultures,” the L.A. Zoo’s curator of birds Rose Legato said in a statement. “Vultures are one of nature's most misunderstood marvels, and I cannot wait for our guests to eventually watch this chick grow and learn just how vital they are to our ecosystems.”
About the species: Cape vultures are listed as a vulnerable species due to human activities and encroachment. According to the L.A. Zoo, African vultures are more closely related to eagles and hawks than vultures native to the Americas, like the California condors that just hatched last year at the L.A. Zoo.
Topline:
The Los Angeles Zoo said it’s the first major breeding success in its Cape vulture habitat, which opened up last year. The chick now joins the zoo’s committee — that’s the name for a group of vultures.
About the chick: The chick hatched March 14. The zoo opened its Cape vulture enclosure in February 2025 after years of planning to encourage the birds to roost and nest, welcoming a new breeding pair that year. When it grows to be an adult, it’ll have a wingspan of 8 1/2 feet.
About the enclosure: The L.A. Zoo said it spent years developing the vulture habitat, which was designed to mimic the vultures’ natural environment in South Africa and nearby countries. Dominick Dorsa II, the zoo’s director of animal care, said in a statement the successful hatching is “a testament to the design and construction” of the habitat.
How to see the chick: You can’t for the time being. Zoo officials are keeping it away from visitors until the chick matures, though you can still see adult Cape vultures at the zoo’s enclosure.
What zoo officials are saying: “Welcoming a Cape vulture chick is a thrilling moment for our team and a beacon of hope for African vultures,” the L.A. Zoo’s curator of birds Rose Legato said in a statement. “Vultures are one of nature's most misunderstood marvels, and I cannot wait for our guests to eventually watch this chick grow and learn just how vital they are to our ecosystems.”
About the species: Cape vultures are listed as a vulnerable species due to human activities and encroachment. According to the L.A. Zoo, African vultures are more closely related to eagles and hawks than vultures native to the Americas, like the zoo's California condors that hatched last year.
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Last week, seven students and two staff members from the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory (BHAC) were detained by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to witnesses. Now, BHAC staff and city officials are demanding answers from the LAPD, with some accusing officers of racial profiling.
What happened: According to the LAPD, officers observed a large group gathered on the corner of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Mott Street around 4:16 p.m. on March 26. The group, classified by police as an “aggressive gang group,” consisted of seven 18-year-old students from the BHAC’s Bridge Academy Movement (BAM) program and two BHAC staff members.
Allegations of racial profiling: In total, seven 18-year-old students and two staff members were detained. BHAC staff said one student and one staff member were taken to Hollenbeck Community Police Station and released less than two hours later after advocacy from community members and Councilmember Ysabel Jurado. According to Rene Weber, a teaching artist at the BHAC, the students had gone to coffee across the street at Milpa Kitchen as they often did. After Weber told the officers that all of the students were 18, they said they would investigate whether the group had any gang affiliation.
What is BAM? The BAM program pays formerly incarcerated youth to complete 200-250 hours in media and visual arts training to prepare them for creative careers. That day, students were set to showcase their work at the BAM program graduation for families and community members.
This story first appeared on The LA Local.
What should have been a celebration for formerly incarcerated youth completing a reentry program at the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory (BHAC) last week instead ended with seven students and two staff members detained by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to witnesses.
Now, nearly a week later, BHAC staff and city officials are demanding answers from the LAPD, with some accusing officers of racial profiling.
According to the LAPD, officers observed a large group gathered on the corner of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Mott Street around 4:16 p.m. on March 26. Authorities then requested backup for what they described as “a large group surrounding officers,” LAPD Public Information Officer Tony Im said.
The group, classified by police as an “aggressive gang group,” consisted of seven 18-year-old students from the BHAC’s Bridge Academy Movement (BAM) program and two BHAC staff members.
The BAM program pays formerly incarcerated youth to complete 200-250 hours in media and visual arts training to prepare them for creative careers. That day, students were set to showcase their work at the BAM program graduation for families and community members.
Rene Weber, a teaching artist at the BHAC, had been with the students setting up for the ceremony minutes before the incident occurred.
According to Weber, the students had gone to coffee across the street at Milpa Kitchen as they often did, when staff were alerted that they were being detained.
Weber said he arrived to find students and a staff member pressed against the wall in handcuffs.
Video from the scene, taken by a staff member at the BHAC, shows multiple officers surrounding the group. At one point, an officer orders a person to “get on the wall” and displays a stun gun.
“No, none of that, these are kids right here,” the staff member replies.
Another staff member, Teotl Veliz, recorded a large police response.
“I counted 12 cop cars, that’s at least 25 cops, and they had a helicopter,” Veliz said. “It was just so comedic, tragically comedic, that it was on their graduation day too.”
Officers established a perimeter with yellow tape along the side of Ashley’s Beauty Salon as local business owners and witnesses gathered around the students.
“I was just incredibly disappointed in LAPD… because it became so apparent to everybody, all at the same time, that it was racial profiling and nothing else,” Veliz said.
Weber said officers gave shifting explanations for the stop at the scene, including blocking the sidewalk and possible underage vaping. After Weber told the officers that all of the students were 18, they said they would investigate whether the group had any gang affiliation.
Police have not responded to questions about what led officers to believe that the group was gang-affiliated.
Weber recalled pleading with the officers to let the group go and explaining to them that they worked across the street. Community members and local business owners also stepped in to vouch for the students.
“Our job is to help them gain a new perspective on life,” Weber said. “They’re coming out of juvenile detention and they’re turning their lives around. We can do our part in keeping them off the streets and keeping them doing better but what does it mean if they’re going to be profiled and treated exactly the same way?”
In total, seven 18-year-old students and two staff members were detained. BHAC staff said one student and one staff member were taken to Hollenbeck Community Police Station and released less than two hours later after advocacy from community members and Councilmember Ysabel Jurado.
The incident ultimately resulted in an infraction for smoking a cannabis e-vape on a public sidewalk, according to a photo of the infraction shared with the Beat. LAPD did not provide details about the people taken to Hollenbeck Station or the infraction.
The graduation ceremony was cancelled that night and is expected to be rescheduled in April.
“Graduation should be a moment of pride and possibility — not fear,” Jurado said in a statement. “I’m seeking answers about what occurred, and this underscores the need for stronger relationships between law enforcement and community organizations so moments like these are protected, not disrupted.”
Carmelita Ramirez‑Sanchez, the conservatory’s executive director, said she was grateful to the community and Jurado for advocating for the students’ release. Jurado met her at Hollenbeck Station within 20 minutes of being alerted to the incident, she said.
“They had store owners, señoras, barbers, that ran out and were trying to explain to the police who our kids were,” Ramirez‑Sanchez said.
Still, she said the incident tarnished what should have been a joyous celebration.
“I imagine that what this does is derail this entire idea that you can be an active participant in your own restorative growth,” she said.
