| MLK/FBI | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Sam Pollard |
| Written by |
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| Produced by | Benjamin Hedin |
| Cinematography | Robert Chappell |
| Edited by | Laura Tomaselli |
| Music by | Gerald Clayton |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | IFC Films |
Release dates |
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Running time | 104 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $45,200[2][3] |
MLK/FBI is a 2020 Americandocumentary film directed bySam Pollard (known for co-directing the 1987 Oscar-nominatedEyes on the Prize), from a screenplay by Benjamin Hedin and Laura Tomaselli. It followsMartin Luther King Jr. as he is investigated and harassed byJ. Edgar Hoover'sFederal Bureau of Investigation.[4]
The film explores the investigation and harassment ofMartin Luther King Jr. byJ. Edgar Hoover and theFederal Bureau of Investigation, through newly declassified documents. Interviews withBeverly Gage,David J. Garrow,Andrew Young, Donna Murch,James Comey,Clarence Jones, Charles Knox, and Marc Perrusquia also appear in the film. The interviews are presented largely as voiceover; some of the interviewees briefly appear on camera at the end of the film.
Much of the documentary utilizes archival footage of MLK between 1955 and 1968, the years of his work as acivil rights activist. It is largely chronological, showing a young MLK from 1963[5] until 1968when he was assassinated. No new information is revealed about his assassination. The last sequence makes the statement that not all FBI documents have been declassified, and that the whole record will be declassified and made available to the public in 2027.
The documentary covers the attempts by Hoover and the FBI to discredit King by collecting recordings and images of his private sexual life with women other than his wife. This is to denigrate his status within thecivil rights movement forblack people in the United States, which was gaining momentum. There is a stark contrast between the thoroughly white complexion of the FBI and the many crowds of black people assembled around MLK.
The film had its world premiere at the2020 Toronto International Film Festival.[6] It screened at the2020 New York Film Festival[7] and was scheduled to be one of the closing night films at theSan Diego International Film Festival in October.[8]
IFC Films has acquired American distribution rights to the film and set a release date for January 15, 2021.[9]
On review aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 99% based on 124 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "MLK/FBI presents a sobering overview of the American intelligence community's efforts to discredit and destroy a leader of the civil rights movement."[10] OnMetacritic, the film has aweighted average score of 82 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[11]
MLK/FBI won theBest Documentary Award at theSan Diego International Film Festival in October 2020.[12]
