How does one relitigate a case that was never litigated (outside the media) in the first place? This is the challenge at the heart of Roee Messinger’s
American Trial: The Eric Garner Story, which premiered at last year’s New York Film Festival and releases online today, May 21st, accompanied by a live stream Q&A and interactive audience component. The film is an unscripted courtroom drama that casts real-life prosecutors and defense attorneys (though none directly involved with the 2014 case of the NYPD officer videotaped choking Staten Islander Eric Garner to death), alongside real-life evidence, expert testimony, and rules of criminal procedure. Add in the real-life witnesses, and even the victim’s widow Esaw Snipes Garner, and
American Trial transforms a “what if” thought experiment into a smart and sophisticated, cinematic reckoning.
Though Officer Daniel Pantaleo ultimately was never brought to trial, on May 21st the character Officer Pantaleo (played by actor Anthony Altieri) will be. And the audience/jury, via online voting during the virtual screening, will determine his fate. Which is why
Filmmaker decided to reach out to Messinger a week prior to “the verdict” (and the film’s online release) to learn more about his unusual hybrid.
To read my interview visit
Filmmaker magazine.
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