Panelist Mark Prentice, HBO Documentary Films SVP Nancy Abraham, panelist Ted Alcorn, panelist Dan Gross, filmmaker Shari Cookson, and filmmaker Nick Doob attend the HBO screening of "Requiem For The Dead" at HBO Theater on June 15, 2015 in New York City.; Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for HBO
If you've seen all the documentaries ever produced about gun violence in America, you've still seen nothing like HBO's upcoming "Requiem for the Dead: American Spring 2014" which premieres tonight at the LA Film Festival (and this coming Monday on HBO).
The filmmakers, Shari Cookson and Nick Doob, interviewed no lawyers, no politicians, no policy makers, no loved ones. Instead the filmmakers weave together photos, phone messages, social media postings and other existing media which humanize the life and powerfully recount the deaths of just eight instances of gun violence from last spring - a season that saw an estimated 8,000 Americans killed by gunfire. The cases are not famous, but bring victims to life in their own words and images before their premature deaths.
What are the filmmakers hoping to accomplish? How challenging was it to gather the existing media? Why were these cases especially compelling to them?
Guests:
Shari Cookson, Filmmaker, “Requiem for the Dead: American Spring 2014;” Cookson’s credits include HBO’s Emmy-winning “The Memory Loss Tapes"
Nick Doob, Filmmaker, “Requiem for the Dead: American Spring 2014;” Doob’s credits include HBO’s Emmy-winning “The Memory Loss Tapes"