| Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple | |
|---|---|
Film poster | |
| Directed by | Stanley Nelson |
| Written by | Marcia Smith |
| Produced by | Stanley Nelson |
| Cinematography | Michael Chin |
| Music by | Tom Phillips |
| Distributed by | Firelight Media American Experience |
Release date |
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Running time | 86 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple, is a 2006documentary film made byFirelight Media, produced and directed byStanley Nelson. The documentary reveals new footage of the incidents surrounding thePeoples Temple and its leaderJim Jones who led over 900 members of his religious group to a settlement inGuyana calledJonestown, where he orchestrated amass suicide with poisonedFlavor Aid, in November 1978.[1] 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 2006Tribeca Film Festival where it received the Outstanding Achievement in Documentaryaward,[2] and was broadcast nationally on Monday, April 9, 2007, onPBS's documentary program "American Experience".[3] The DVD release contains a number of scenes and interviews not in the on-air program.