In November 2012 in Jacksonville, Florida, four unarmed African American teenagers stop at a gas station to buy gum and cigarettes. When a middle-aged white man parks beside them, an altercation begins over the volume of rap music playing in the teens’ car. Three and a half minutes later, Michael Dunn took a pistol out of his glove compartment and fired ten shots into the teenagers’ car, killing 17-year-old Jordan Davis instantly. Arrested the next day, Dunn claimed he shot in self-defence, thus beginning the long journey of unravelling the truth.

Marc Silver’s seamlessly constructed and riveting documentary reveals how hidden racial prejudice can result in tragedy though its reconstructions of the night of the murder and explores the danger and subjectivity of Florida's controversial Stand Your Ground self-defense laws. By turns rousing, shocking and infuriating this powerful story about the devastating effects of racial bias and the search for justice within the US legal system is an essential contribution to the ever-present conversation about race in America.


• The screening of 3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets on Tue 13 Oct is part of our Cinébites deal: Get 30% off any main dish in the Café/Bar with a valid cinema ticket.

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