Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple | |
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Film poster
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Directed by | Stanley Nelson |
Produced by | Stanley Nelson |
Written by | Marcia Smith |
Music by | Tom Phillips |
Cinematography | Michael Chin |
Distributed by |
Firelight Media American Experience |
Release date
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Running time
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86 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple, is a 2006 documentary film made by Firelight Media, produced and directed by Stanley Nelson. The documentary reveals new footage of the incidents surrounding the Peoples Temple and its leader Jim Jones who led over 900 members of his religious group to a settlement in Guyana called Jonestown, where he orchestrated a mass suicide with poisoned Flavor Aid, in 1978. It is in the form of a narrative with interviews with former Temple members, Jonestown survivors, and people who knew Jones.
The film premiered at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival where it received the Outstanding Achievement in Documentary award, and was broadcast nationally on Monday, April 9, 2007, on PBS's documentary program "American Experience". The DVD release contains a number of scenes and interviews not in the on-air program.