“3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets” at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2015

“3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets” goes into the courtroom of the trial for seventeen year old African American Jordan Davis was shot by Caucasian Michael Dunn, when an argument ensued at a gas station on the day after Thanksgiving, 2012, over loud music coming from Jordan and his friends’ car radio.

Jordan and his friends, three mild mannered, African American teens, stopped at the gas station to buy gum and cigarettes on their way to go hang out with girls. Michael Dunn and his fiancee stopped at the same gas station to purchase a bottle of wine on their way to an event. When Michael Dunn asked them to turn the music down, at first the teens obliged. On second thought, they turned the music back up. This upset Michael and argumentative banter occurred. Soon thereafter, Michael took out a gun, shot and killed Jordan, and pleaded self defense. The film examines the aftermath of this tragedy, the implications of the “Stand Your Ground” self-defense law, and the racial prejudices that ensued.

Will the jury side with Michael Dunn in his self defense claim, or will there be ‘Justice for Jordan’ and his family and friends?

Directed by Marc Silver, “3 and 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets,” won a Special Jury Award for Social Impact at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the RiverRun Film Festival.

It is screening in New York as part of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival on June 12, 2015, at 7pm at Film Society of Lincoln Center’s, Walter Reade Theater, followed by a National Release.

Opening Night – Discussion with filmmaker Marc Silver, Executive producer Orlando Bagwell, and Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno, Co-Director, US Program, HRW Moderated by Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Director, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Article by Sharon Abella
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