Christopher Frierson was not expecting to be hit with tear gas at a recent protest in Brooklyn, New York. The documentary filmmaker has covered many protests, but he has never experienced that kind of reaction by police to a peaceful protest. His camera recorded it all. Frierson returned the next day to talk to the officers who had released the tear gas. He is one of several documentarians who have brought out their cameras to record the historic nationwide protests. Other filmmakers include Steve James who made the film Hoop Dreams and Alexandra Pelosi, the maker of Outside the Bubble. The documentarians, like the protesters, risk exposure to COVID-19 and other dangers at the demonstrations. “When there is something happening in your environment, you have to shoot it,” said Frierson. His latest film, Don’t Try to Understand: A Year in the Life of Earl ‘DMX’ Simmons, was supposed to be released this spring. “If you have a camera, you got to shoot it,” he said.