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Thomas Napper’s empathetic but tough-minded documentary invites us into a part of Los Angeles that many choose to ignore—downtown’s skid row. As we meet the distressed area’s residents, including a former Olympic runner, a transgendered punk rocker, and an eccentric animal lover and her devoted companion, their remarkable stories paint a multifaceted portrait of life on the streets. There are undeniable problems—mental illness and addition are common themes—but there is also hope and a surprising sense of community.

Lost Angels is also a scathing condemnation of the Safer Cities Initiative of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Police Chief William Bratton. Although its stated purpose is to reduce crime in the area, for many the program is nothing more than officially sanctioned class warfare, unfairly targeting the low income and homeless population of skid row in what some feel is an effort to pave the way for gentrification.

Passionate, polemic, and generous in spirit, Lost Angels finds a unique vitality to life on skid row and a stirring humanity in those who live there.

Review from The Huffington Post written by Linda Milazzo:

"Thomas Napper fills every frame with the realities of Skid Row. His lens shines the light on a people and a place too many choose to turn away from. He gives them his camera and they give him their confidence, their respect, and their truth. The result is an invitation, not an invasion, into their community of compassion, revelation and love. " More...

Review from Variety written by Andrew Barker:

"Lost Angels is a warm, humanistic portrait of Los Angeles' Skid Row, and much like the marginalized people it documents, it manges to walk an incredibly precarious line -- celebrating the strong-willed characters who are allowed to thrive there without soft-pedaling the injustices that leave them with no other place to go. Expertly made and whot through with an undercurrent of rightwous anger, director Thomas Napper's docu is ultimately a tribute to the spirit of an area most would consider a simple urban blight ..." More...

Community activist General Jeff talks to Amoeba about the film:

"The Thomas Napper directed film Lost Angels ... puts a human face on these so readily dismissed individuals that inhabit the Skid Row area. The excellent documentary's subjects include a former Olympic runner, a transgendered punk rocker, and an accentric animal lover and her devoted companion. It respectfully tells their individual stories of what led them to this point in their lives." More...