From 1955 until his death, the FBI and J. Edgar Hoover targeted civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in an increasingly invasive surveillance program meant to destabilize the man and the movement. This fact is well documented, but filmmaker Sam Pollard‘s (“Two Trains Runnin‘,” “Eyes on the Prize“) new documentary “MLK/FBI,” pulls back the curtain on the story in a way that hasn’t been told on film.
“MLK/FBI” has been beloved everywhere it has screened, and it was an official selection title at the 2020 Telluride Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, the Chicago International Film Festival, and the just-finished DOC NYC.
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Robert Daniels, our reviewer from TIFF, wrote, “Pollards’ ‘MLK/FBI’ is more than an eye-opening look at an icon, and the evil forces working to tear him apart, it’s a critical chapter that should be imprinted inside every white American’s heart. Especially right now.”
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MLK/FBI is an essential expose of the surveillance and harassment of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (labeled by the FBI as the “most dangerous” Black person in America), undertaken by J. Edgar Hoover and the U.S. government. Based on newly discovered and declassified files, as well as revelatory restored footage, the documentary explores the government’s history of targeting Black activists. Directed by Emmy® Award-winner and Oscar®-nominee Sam Pollard, MLK/FBI recounts a tragic story with searing relevance to our current moment.
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IFC Films will be releasing “MLK/FBBI” on January 15, 2021, and given all the unanimous praise critics have given the film, expect Pollard’s doc to be a sure-fire Oscar contender in the Best Documentary category. Regardless, watch the first trailer for the film below.
