The Panthers are a unique organisation that takes inspiration and methods from the Black Panthers in the USA. The Panthers was started in February 2011 by a few older youths from the suburb of Biskopsgården in Gothenburg, Sweden. They have organised themed days, summer and winter camps, and a football tournament with invited teams from other suburbs.

With a strong sense of commitment and an awareness of class based problems, they are now fighting to achieve a meaningful existence by, among other things, reopening the youth centre in Biskopsgården that has long been closed. They want to focus on the cutbacks that have affected not only Biskopsgården, but suburbs throughout Sweden, which have led to increased poverty and social vulnerability. The Panthers seek social change from the ground level up in order to make a difference in young people’s lives. The Panthers have assisted young people in expressing their dissatisfaction and to stand up and confront politicians.

We want to increase awareness about the Panthers; their actions, practical achievements, the methods they use, and their theoretical positions. How they view a society that for decades considered the city center as the ”City”. How the place where they live is a blip on the map where social care and culture, things taken for granted in the inner city, rarely find their way out to the suburbs in any other form but as ”charity”.

Our aim is to portray the power and creativity of young people when they are given the opportunity to represent themselves and create their own future. This potential stands in strong contrast to media stereotypes of suburbia as problem ridden, and of suburban youth as delinquent and passive in the face of the structures that constrain their lives.

Watch the trailer: http://youtu.be/eMgMNuIbzeg