"48 HOURS" ACQUIRES THE DOCUMENTARY FILM "THE WHOLE GRITTY CITY," TO BE BROADCAST FEB. 15, 2014

48 HOURS has acquired the documentary film "The Whole Gritty City," which will be broadcast as a two-hour primetime special Feb. 15, 2014 (9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

"The Whole Gritty City" follows three New Orleans marching bands. The bands' directors do more than prepare students to march in Mardi Gras parades: they battle for their lives and souls against the lures and dangers of the streets.

Shot in New Orleans from 2007 to 2010, "The Whole Gritty City" portrays the setbacks and the triumphs of band members and their adult leaders in America's most musical city and one of its most violent.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune called the film "an impassioned documentary look at the often-unsung heroes of Mardi Gras parades" that is "emotional" and at times "heartbreaking." Author and screenwriter David Simon called "The Whole Gritty City" a "beautiful film" that "champions what the American urban experience offers us all in terms of culture, community and, ultimately, meaning."

48 HOURS PRESENTS: "The Whole Gritty City" is a documentary by Richard Barber, a 48 HOURS editor-producer, and Andre Lambertson, a cinematographer and photojournalist dedicated to giving voice to children dealing with poverty and violence.