BEHIND THE SCENES
Synopsis
41 Shots
On Feb. 4, 1999, four New York City Police officers killed African immigrant Amadou Diallo on his own doorstep in a hail of 41 bullets. The inhumanity of Amadou’s death outraged African-Americans, so often the victims of such violence themselves, and people of all ethnicities took to the streets in protest. And yet, despite all the publicity, how many of those marching in Diallo’s name could tell you what his native language was or place Guinea on a map?
Two Lives
Jesse Thyne knew Amadou’s history better than any other American. An exuberant Peace Corps volunteer from Pasadena, CA, Jesse was assigned to Amadou’s home village in Guinea, West Africa. He’d been “adopted” by members of Amadou’s family and lived in their house. While Amadou sold hats and gloves on a New York City street corner to save money for college, Jesse was learning to speak the local language and teaching Guinean children math.
When Amadou died, people in Guinea turned to Jesse for an explanation. Jesse was present at Amadou’s funeral, where he sat with the Diallo family and served as a translator for American journalists.
Two Tragic Deaths
In January of 2000, almost a year to date after Amadou’s death, Jesse was killed in a brutal car accident on a Guinean highway. The taxi driver responsible for Jesse’s death spent three years in a Guinean prison – a harsher-than-usual punishment. Amadou’s killers walked free.
Jesse’s death, like Amadou’s, was used as a rallying cry against endemic problems. While thousands of Americans protested Amadou’s death, thousands of Guineans came together to march for road safety awareness in a country notorious for reckless driving. Like Amadou, Jesse was repatriated to his home soil for burial. Both families had premonitions and dreams foreshadowing the deaths of their sons, and both deaths had a profound spiritual impact on their nation’s religious communities.
One Story
Death of Two Sons follows the life histories of Amadou and Jesse as their dreams led them to each other’s home countries. The film looks at the religious, social and political implications of their deaths, raising painful and difficult questions about race and global disparities of justice. Beyond examining the broad societal aspects of these events, the film leads us to a very personal truth: that the loss of any human life is equally tragic. Death of Two Sons shows the common humanity shared by these young men, their families, and their nations.
Synopsis | Filmmaker Bios | Facts | Crew Bios | Life Through Your Lens
Filmmaker Bios
Producer Alrick Brown, Kadiatou Diallo (Amadou’s Mother), and Director Micah Schaffer
Urban World Film Festival, June 24 2006.
“There is a real human story behind the vestibule and the 41 shots. You told that story.” – Kadiatou Diallo
“You were the only ones who asked the Guineans how they felt about Amadou’s death.” – Kadiatou Diallo
 Micah Schaffer, Director
After studying history and anthropology at Stanford University, Micah worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guinea, West Africa. While attending the Pan-African Film Festival (FESPACO), he was inspired to become a filmmaker. Upon returning to the United States, he directed and shot several short documentaries, including “Yahya,” the story of a white American who converted to Islam while living in Brooklyn. “Death of Two Sons” was Micah’s first feature documentary as director. He also recently co-produced “Iron Ladies of Liberia,” a BBC documentary about Africa’s first female president. Micah is currently pursuing his MFA in fiction filmmaking at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Alrick Brown, Producer
Alrick holds an M.Ed. from Rutgers University and an MFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the arts, and was one of four filmmakers featured in the hit IFC Documentary series “Film School,” produced by Academy-Award nominee Nanette Burstein. A writer and teacher, Alrick has found his calling directing and producing narrative films and documentaries on social issues affecting the world at large. For over two years he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cote d’Ivoire. Alrick’s collective work has screened in over thirty national and international film festivals and has received numerous awards. At present, he is in post-production for his next film, “Us: A Love Story,” pre-production on a feature documentary “From Waxx to Digital,” directing music videos, as well as writing a feature screenplay, a thriller entitled “The Shadows.”
Synopsis | Filmmaker Bios | Facts | Crew Bios | Life Through Your Lens
Facts About the Film and Filmmakers
FACTS ABOUT THE STORY
• Amadou Diallo was born on September 2, 1975 in West Africa.
• Jesse Thyne was born on July 8, 1975 in Southern California.
• Amadou Diallo left Guinea for the United States in 1996.
• Jesse Thyne left the United States for Guinea in 1998.
• Amadou Diallo was killed on February 4, 1999 by four members of the New York City Police Department’s elite Street Crime Unit. They fired 41 bullets, hitting him 19 times.
• Jesse Thyne lived in Amadou’s home village of Diountou, Guinea, and was adopted as a member of the Diallo family.
• Jesse Thyne was killed in a car accident in Guinea on January 7, 2000.
• The four police officers who shot Amadou Diallo were charged with 2nd degree murder. On February 25, 2000 they were acquitted of all charges.
• The driver responsible for Jesse Thyne’s death was charged with manslaughter. In March of 2000, he was sentenced to three years in prison, a harsher-than-usual punishment in Guinea.
• Jesse and Amadou never met.
• The Thyne family and the Diallo family have spoken, but never met.
FACTS ABOUT THE FILM AND FILMMAKERS
• Initial funding was provided by the “Life Through Your Lens” Emerging Documentary Filmmaker’s Grant, an award co-sponsored by the Harvard University Department of African and Afro-American Studies and HBO.
• 10% of profits for Death of Two Sons will be donated to the Amadou Diallo Foundation, a humanitarian fund created by Kadiatou Diallo, Amadou’s mother.
• Producer Alrick Brown and Director Micah Schaffer met at New York University, the leading film school in the United States.
• Both Micah and Alrick were inspired to become filmmakers when they attended the 2001 FESPACO Pan-African Film Festival in Burkina Faso.
• Director Micah Schaffer served in Peace Corps in Guinea, West Africa from 1999-2001.
• Producer Alrick Brown served in Peace Corps in Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa from 2000-2002.
• Micah recently co-produced a BBC documentary film about Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, Africa’s first female president.
• Alrick is currently writing and developing several films, including “From Wax to Digital” and “Us – a Love Story.”
• The Death of Two Sons UK/European premiere took place at the Leeds International Film Festival in November 2006. The film won the Audience Award.
• The Death of Two Sons African premiere took place at the FESPACO Pan-African Film Festival in Burkina Faso in February 2007.
Synopsis | Filmmaker Bios | Facts | Crew Bios | Life Through Your Lens
Crew Bios
Cary Joji Fukunaga, Cinematographer
Cary has a degree in history from the University of California, Santa Cruz and L'Institut d'Ètudes Politique (IEP) de Grenoble, France. He has traveled extensively throughout Southeast Asia, Europe, and Latin America, as a photographer. He is now pursuing an M.F.A. at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. His recent short film “Victoria Para Chino” has won numerous awards, including an honorable mention at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and second place at the student Oscars. He is currently in preproduction for his first feature film, which he will direct for Focus Features.
Dena Mermelstein, Editor
Dena has been working in the documentary film industry for 15 years. She directed and edited a series of industrial videos for the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers' Union, which were produced by Barbara Kopple. Recent editing credits include: "American Aloha: Hula Beyond Hawaii", which aired on the PBS in 2003 and 2004; "Chiefs", Best Documentary winner at the 2002 Tribeca Film Festival and an Independent Lens broadcast; and Third World Newsreel’s "North Korea: Beyond the DMZ", which had its world premiere at the Museum of Modern Art. Mermelstein also edited a series of documentary films for the NAACP about HIV and AIDS, which have been used extensively in the African-American community to encourage HIV testing and safe-sex practices. Mermelstein was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for her editing work on the children’s program, Reading Rainbow.
Martha Skolnik, Editor
Martha has been working as an editor for the past 8 years, mostly on socially relevant documentaries. Her first narrative feature, “On the Outs,” was released in theaters by Polychrome Pictures in January, 2006, and Warner DVD in March, 2006. On the Outs premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and garnered 5 awards, included the prestigious Grand Jury Prize at the Deauville Film Festival, and both Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at Slamdance. Martha’s other projects have included “Hooked: the Legend of Demetrius ‘Hook’ Mitchell;” “La Esquina Caliente;” “Death of Two Sons;” and “Lockdown, USA,” the story of the fight to reform the Rockefeller Drug Laws in New York State, as spearheaded by hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons. She is currently editing a documentary about the King of Swaziland, done in partnership with Netflix.
John Jennings Boyd, Composer
John Jennings Boyd is an eclectic composer involved in a variety of composition and music making endeavors, including composition for the Concert Hall, Film, and Television. He composed the score for the critically acclaimed films Victoria Para Chino (2005 Sundance Film Festival winner), Lucid (2006 Beverly Hills Int'l Film Festival winner), Vacationland (2005 Maine International Film Festival winner) Zeke and The Plunge (2004 Student Academy Award and Student Emmy winners) and Ants (2003 Student Emmy winner). Recently, John has been composing for a variety of TV projects, including series and specials on The Discovery Channel, A&E, and The National Geographic Channel. He has conducted his original music at Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater and his orchestral works have been performed home and abroad. John holds a BA in Music from Florida State University and the MA in Composition from New York University.
Scott Jones, Camera and Sound
Scott has had years of experience behind the camera both as a Documentary DP and still photographer. He recently won an Emmy Award for his camera work on a television show called "Common Good". Scott’s latest work, the documentary "Big Blue Bear," screened at this year’s Denver International Film Festival.
Donna Dewey, Creative Consultant
Donna Dewey won the 1997 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short for her film A Story of Healing. She has been writing, producing, and directing films for over twenty years, and her documentaries have screened at film festivals around the world. Her work has been broadcast on PBS, The Learning Channel, BET, and national cable networks. In the last year, Donna has produced two feature narratives, “Skills Like This” and “Looking For Sunday.” Donna also serves as a commissioner for the Denver Mayor’s Office of Art, Culture, and Film.
Synopsis | Filmmaker Bios | Facts | Crew Bios | Life Through Your Lens
About the "Life Through Your Lens" Award
 The “Life Through Your Lens” Grant was created to foster work by emerging filmmakers dealing with African-American themes or issues. Winners were selected by the Time-Warner Corporation and Harvard University’s Department of African and Afro-American Studies
One winner in each of the categories of "Current News Documentary" and "General Documentary" was awarded a $100,000 in-kind grant ($25,000 cash and $75,000 in production services) to be used toward the completion of their documentary film.
Death of Two Sons was chosen from a pool of over 500 applicants as the winner in the “General Documentary” category. In addition to the grant, the filmmakers received the mentorship and collaboration of HBO’s award-winning staff.
Synopsis | Filmmaker Bios | Facts | Crew Bios | Life Through Your Lens
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