''The Art of Political Murder'' is a 2020 American

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

directed by Paul Taylor, based on the book of the same name by

Francisco Goldman Francisco Goldman (born 1954) is an American novelist, journalist, and Allen K. Smith Professor of Literature and Creative Writing, Trinity College. His most recent novel, ''Monkey Boy'' (2021), was a finalist for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Fi ...

. It follows the murder of

Juan José Gerardi Conedera Juan José Gerardi Conedera (27 December 1922 – 26 April 1998) was a Guatemalan Roman Catholic bishop and human rights defender who was long active in working with the indigenous Mayan peoples of the country. In the 1970s he gained governmen ...

, a human rights activist who was murdered after presenting a damaging report of atrocities committed during the

Guatemalan Civil War The Guatemalan Civil War was a civil war in Guatemala fought from 1960 to 1996 between the government of Guatemala and various leftist rebel groups. The government forces have been condemned for committing genocide against the Maya population ...

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...

and

Grant Heslov Grant Heslov (born May 15, 1963) is an American actor and filmmaker known for his producing and writing collaborations with George Clooney, which have earned him four Oscar nominations. As a co-producer of ''Argo'' (2012), he received the Academy ...

serve as executive producers under their Smoke House Pictures banner. It was released on December 16, 2020, by

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

Synopsis

The film follows the murder of

, a human rights activist who was murdered after presenting a damaging report of atrocities committed during the

, following the investigation that took place into the murder exposing more corruption and violence.

Book

, who wrote the book on which the film is based, is the child of a Guatemalan mother and spent much of his youth in the country. Upon its publication in 2007, it was listed among the year’s best or notable books by publications including the ''New York Times'', ''Washington Post'', ''Chicago Tribune'', and ''San Francisco Chronicle''. HBO Documentary Films announced it would co-produce the screen adaptation of Goldman’s book in May 2019.

Production

In May 2019, it was announced

HBO Documentary Films Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television, premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office busi ...

would produce and distribute the film, with Paul Taylor set to direct the film, with

and

set to serve as executive producers under their

Smokehouse Pictures Smokehouse Pictures is an American film and television production company. The company was founded in 2006 by George Clooney and Grant Heslov after the shutdown of Section Eight Productions. Its name is taken from the Smoke House restaurant, loc ...

banner.

Release

The film was set to have its world premiere at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...

in April 2020, however, the festival was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. It was scheduled to be released on December 16, 2020.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Art of Political Murder, The 2020 films 2020 documentary films American documentary films HBO documentary films Smokehouse Pictures films 2020s English-language films 2020s American films