Doc Star of the Month: Denilson Garibo, 'Homeroom'

Winner of the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: US Documentary at this year’s Sundance, Homeroom is the final piece in Peter Nicks’ Oakland Trilogy. The vérité project began with 2012’s The Waiting Room and continued on through 2017’s The Force, which notably provided Documentary with the chance to chat with the Oakland Police Department’s Deputy Chief LeRonne Armstrong for this very column. Interestingly, the OPD — specifically the battle over where and how it should be deployed — also figures quite prominently in Homeroom. Embedding with Oakland High School’s class of 2020, Nicks and his team follow along as a group of highly engaged BIPOC seniors navigates the everyday stresses of tests and college applications all while trying to rid their school district of its divisive police force. And this is before a global pandemic and a season of racial justice protests turn their microcosmic teenage world even more upside down. One of the OHS leaders centered most prominently in Nicks’ doc is Denilson Garibo, who served as a student director on the Oakland Unified School District board, and now graciously serves as our August Doc Star of the Month. Just prior to the film’s Hulu release on August 12, Documentary spoke with the tenacious activist — and onetime Dreamer — about the pros and cons of being trailed by a camera during what turned out to be one roller coaster of a final year.

To read my inspiring interview visit Documentary magazine.