"Deeply probing and stirring"    -Kevin Thomas, LOS ANGELES TIMES "A gem of a documentary, with all the elements of great drama falling naturally into place."    -Heather Wisner, SF WEEKLY "One of the best films of the recent Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. . .Colors Straight Up deserves a chance to get its message of hope to a wide audience. . . Both intimate and objective, the filmmaking energetically keeps pace with the subjects. . . " -David Hunter, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER "Director Michele Ohayon effects an organic, seemingly effortless structure for the chronicle. tžs a true sleight-of-hand feat as she weaves in personal tales with the relatively straightforward narrative thrust of conceiving, rehearsing and staging the theatrical production. The filmžs message of hope packs a potent punch for audiences that promises to translate into good theatrical prospects. . ."   -Len Klady, DAILY VARIETY "There are nail biting scenes. . . the movie works because director Michele Ohayon knows to trust the drama inherent in the stories."-Ernest Hardy, LA WEEKLY "Almost embarrassingly powerful. . . provides the same fourth-wall -shattering verisimilitude as Streetwise . . . like It Was A Wonderful Life, Michele Ohayon's equally powerful documentary it is almost impossible to separate the film from its subject matter; this is the business of documentaries."   -Paul Cullum, NEW TIMES LOS ANGELES SF WEEKLY April 30-May 6, 1997 A gem of a documentary, with all the elements of great drama falling naturally into place. Director Michele Ohayon profiles a year in the life of Colors United, an after-school drama program aimed at drawing besieged Watts youth away from drugs, violence, and crime. Harrowing footage of funeral services and court dates, racial tension and rocky family life spills over into sometimes raucous, sometimes heart-rending rehearsal footage and interviews with these sulky, articulate, determined kids. ("I wouldn't make a good gangbanger," says one. "It's not me. I'd get into a fight and be like, 'Don't mess up the hair.'") (Wisner)