For Ahkeem

Play trailer

2:17

For Ahkeem

2017

1h 30m

Documentary

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

96%

Tomatometer

26 Reviews

65%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

After a fight lands 17-year-old Daje Shelton in a court-supervised high school, she's determined to turn things around and make a better future for herself -- a challenge that many black teenagers face in America today.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

For Ahkeem uses one young woman's stirring story to offer a sobering reflection of the lives of many in modern America.

Read Critics Reviews

Peter Keough

Boston Globe

03/15/2018

"For Ahkeem" ... reminds white audiences that it is not enough to agree that black lives matter, but that it is also necessary to try and understand how black lives are lived.

Go to Full Review

David Ehrlich

IndieWire

12/15/2017

B

By simply documenting Deja's humanity, For Ahkeem offers a vivid example of the incontrovertible fact that black lives matter.

Go to Full Review

Leah Pickett

Chicago Reader

12/15/2017

[For Ahkeem] is a compelling but often frustrating documentary, a microcosm of the struggles faced by many disadvantaged young people of color today.

Go to Full Review

Elissa Suh

MUBI

02/27/2020

For Ahkeem poignantly unfolds with all the accouterments of a narrative film.

Go to Full Review

Al Hoff

Pittsburgh City Paper

03/21/2018

Throughout the movie, there is one constant: Daje's smile. You can't help but want to keep rooting for her.

Go to Full Review

Brian Costello

Common Sense Media

01/10/2018

4/5

Excellent docu on teen's struggles in inner-city St. Louis.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

06/23/2020

Very sad. Thought provoking. Emotional. Historic.

See more

06/17/2020

A sad but perfect depiction of many African American families. Born into poverty, to parents doing the best that they can with the resources(or lack there of) that they have available to them. This story also reflects the unfortunate reality that young black men fall into the web called the justice system and usually remain entangled because by default, they plead guilty because they can not afford representation.

See more

10/15/2017

This documentary follows a bright and talented young lady from St. Louis. It's raw and honest. She isn't trying to be a superstar, she simply opened the doors to her life and all of the challenges she faces. A must see for all demographics.

See more

05/09/2017

If I see another film about impoverished black girls directed by privileged white men, I honestly think I will lose my mind.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Jeremy S. Levine

Director

Landon Van Soest

Director

Daje Shelton

Self

Antonio Thomas Shumpert Jr.

Self

Iyabo Boyd

Producer

Nicholas Weissman

Producer

Step

96%

78%

Step

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Step

A Woman Captured

89%

100%

A Woman Captured

Watchlist

What Haunts Us

100%

74%

What Haunts Us

Watchlist

TRAILER

for What Haunts Us

Jacinta

100%

94%

Jacinta

Watchlist

Swim Team

100%

80%

Swim Team

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

For Ahkeem: Trailer 1

2:17

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

After a fight lands 17-year-old Daje Shelton in a court-supervised high school, she's determined to turn things around and make a better future for herself -- a challenge that many black teenagers face in America today.

Director: Jeremy S. Levine, Landon Van Soest
Producer: Iyabo Boyd, Nicholas Weissman
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 13, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 12, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $23.1K
Runtime: 1h 30m

Most Popular at Home Now