Film Update: Murders That Matter

POV’s Digital Curator Anthony Yooshin Kim caught up with Murders That Matter filmmaker Marco Williams to provide a window into the making of his film and reflect on the journey since the cameras stopped rolling.

Behind every gunshot in the African American community is a story of pain, trauma, and resilience. Marco Williams, a veteran in the world of documentary filmmaking, ventures deep into this narrative with his latest documentary, Murders That Matter.

Discovering Movita through a New York Times article spotlighting Black Lives Matter activists transitioning to political roles, Williams was gripped by her journey. Movita, fueled by the tragic murders of her sons, was a paragon of tenacity and change. Their meeting culminated in Williams documenting her political campaign, an endeavor that spanned an unexpected five years. “I was immediately certain,” Williams recalls, “This was a story that needed a broader canvas, the canvas of a documentary.”

While Williams began the documentary as a voice against the rampant murders plaguing the African American community, his lens captured something that went beyond politics: the echoing absence and trauma left in the wake of such violence. “It’s not just about the act of violence,” he reflects, “but about the lasting scars it leaves on families and communities.” The film, in Williams’s words, seamlessly “bridges raw emotion to real-world policy.”

Williams, an ardent admirer of Frederick Wiseman, leans into cinéma vérité, preferring “observational films with go-forward stories.” His illustrious filmmaking journey, crowned by masterpieces like the Peabody-winning Two Towns of Jasper and the profound The Undocumented, serves as a testament to his relentless search for unearthing pivotal and potent societal stories.

Post-documentary, Movita’s journey has been nothing short of awe-inspiring. Williams shares, “Movita continues working to redress the social determinants that lead to violence in the African American community through the foundations named in honor her murdered sons—the DONTÉ Initiative and THE CHARLES Foundation.” She has also garnered accolades from the NAACP, Truth and Life, DIVAS Ministry, Women Doing it Big, and The Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office. Currently, she’s illuminating audiences on an international book tour.

Williams’s aspiration for his audience is both simple and profound: “I want them to fathom the deep impact of gun violence on families, the generational trauma. And to ask themselves: what would I do if a loved one was murdered?”

Currently, Williams has an array of projects in the pipeline, including films on Eyes on the Prize and actor-activist Canada Lee. Moreover, he emphasizes several organizations connected to Murders That Matter that focus on healing and advocacy, such as Scribe Video Center (PA), Mend Collaborative (LA), Broken By Violence (Bay Area), Black Mental Wellness (D.C.), Dougy Center (OR), Hope and Heal Fund (CA), and The Institute for Better Gun Violence Reporting (PA).

In a world often desensitized to violence, Marco Williams’s Murders That Matter serves as a jarring wake-up call. As you immerse yourself in the narrative, it begs the question: in a society rife with violence, how do we ensure that every life, every story, truly matters?

Murders That Matter premiered on Monday, October 2nd and is available to stream through November 30th.