MLK/FBI

Name: MLK/FBI
Director: Sam Pollard
Released: 2020

Sam Pollard 2020

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered as an American hero: a bridge-builder, a shrewd political tactician, and a moral leader. Yet throughout his history-altering political career, he was often treated by U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies like an enemy of the state. In this virtuosic film, award-winning editor, and director Sam Pollard lays out a detailed account of the FBI surveillance that dogged King’s activism throughout the ’50s and ’60s, fueled by the racist and red-baiting paranoia of J. Edgar Hoover. In crafting a rich archival tapestry, featuring some revelatory restored footage of King, Pollard urges us to remember that true American progress is always hard-won.

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Running Time:

106 min.

Spoken Languages:

English

Subtitles:

English

Directors:

Sam Pollard

Producers:

Benjamin Hedin

Cinematographers:

Robert Chappell

Editors:

Laura Tomaselli

Production Companies:

IFC Films

Press

The Guardian

"This documentary throws the bureau’s appalling dirty-tricks campaign into sharp focus"

Peter Bradshaw
The New York Times

"...it’s an exemplary historical documentary — unafraid of moral judgment but also attentive to the fine grain of ambiguity that clings to the facts."

A.O. Scott
Variety

"...a tensely absorbing documentary..."

Owen Gleiberman

Festival Participation

Toronto International Film Festival - 2020
Official Selection
New York Film Festival - 2020
Official Selection
Critics' Choise Awards - 2020
Best Archival Documentary
San Diego International Film Festival - 2020
Best Documentary
Santa Fe Independent Film Festival - 2020
Best Documentary Feature
IDA Documentary Awards - 2020
Chicago International Film Festival - 2020

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