Independent Lens

Rat Film

Across walls, fences, and alleys, rats not only expose our boundaries of separation but make homes in them. Rat Film is a feature-length documentary that uses the rat—as well as the humans that love them, live with them, and kill them-to explore the history of Baltimore. "There's never been a rat problem in Baltimore, it's always been a people problem.”

Rat Film - Trailer

30s

In his critically-acclaimed directorial debut, Theo Anthony uses the rat to burrow into the dark, complicated history of Baltimore. A unique blend of history, science and sci-fi, poetry and portraiture, Rat Film explores how racial segregation, discriminatory lending practices known as “redlining,” and environmental racism built the Baltimore that exists today.

  • Rat Film - "Rats Put Food on My Table" - Clip: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Rat Film - "Rats Put Food on My Table" - Clip

    S19 E10 - 2m 48s

    In this excerpt from the Independent Lens film Rat Film, Harold Edmond, a rat exterminator in Baltimore, helps a resident figure out how to handle the rats infesting her backyard, a common problem in certain Baltimore neighborhoods. After rats learned to avoid the poisoned peanut butter, she switches to BBQ sauce with better success. "They figured it out," Harold tells her.

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