Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple
Location(s)
Pre-film reception begins at 6:00 pm
Director: Stanley Nelson
USA, 2006, 85 min
Veteran filmmaker Stanley Nelson traces the stunning rise and fall of Peoples Temple and its charismatic founder Jim Jones, who engineered a mass “suicide� among his followers in a remote village in Guyana on November 18, 1978. The tragedy made international headlines as images of the carnage made their way out of the jungle and confronted viewers with a ghastly reality that defied the imagination: More than 900 dead, including hundreds of children, faced down in the remnants of the utopian community they had tried to create. This wrenching documentary features former members of Peoples Temple, including many whose family members perished in Jonestown as they recount how initially, they felt they were part of an idealistic interracial movement that would change the world. But the film also unearths the fear, threats, violence, and paranoia that slowly became part of everyday life for the members of Peoples Temple as Jim Jones became more and more intoxicated with power. Stanley Nelson is an award-winning filmmaker best known for his groundbreaking historical documentaries that illuminate critical but overlooked history. His film, The Murder of Emmet Till, won a Primetime Emmy; the Special Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival; an International Documentary Association award; and the George Foster Peabody award.
Noland Walker co-wrote and co-produced Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple. He has an aunt, uncle, and three cousins who were all members of Peoples Temple. He also co-produced and directed Citizen King for PBS’ American Experience series. He was the Peabody Award-winning producer of Revolution, an episode in the Africans in America series. He won a Regional Emmy Award for his producing and directing work on A Day in the Life of Jeremiah Burke high School.