Tales of the Grim Sleeper - hand

Tales of the Grim Sleeper + Director's Q&A

classified 15
Film

Please note: This was screened in Feb 2015

Director
Nick Broomfield
Details
110 mins, 2014, USA/UK

Veteran documentarian Nick Broomfield digs into the case of the notorious serial killer known as the Grim Sleeper, who terrorised South Central Los Angeles over a period of twenty-five years, raping and murdering upwards of 100 young women. The alleged murderer, Lonnie Franklin, was arrested in 2010 (he is currently still awaiting trial and proclaims his innocence), and this film is as much an exposé of him as it is a vivid portrait of a community long plagued by drugs, crime and poverty. Broomfield calls on the help of area residents – including Pam, a fearless former prostitute – to paint a provocative picture of Franklin, and asks how he could have remained hidden for so long. The first recorded murder was in 1985, but the LAPD were very slow to warn the public, only breaking the news in 2008. It is this deeper social context of the killings – of poverty, racism and seeming lack of police concern about the deaths of poor black sex workers – that drives the film, and how timely it is. An immersive, eye-opening documentary that will stay with you long after the credits roll.

Followed by a Q&A with director Nick Broomfield hosted by Mandy Rose, Director of UWE's Digital Cultures Research Centre.

Ticket prices: £8.00 full / £6.50 concessions.


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