2013 film
| Valentine Road |
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![]() Film poster |
| Directed by | Marta Cunningham |
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Release date |
- January 2013 (2013-01) (Sundance)[1][2]
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Valentine Road is a documentary film by director Marta Cunningham. In 2008 Cunningham read a Southern Poverty Law Center article about the murder of an openly gay non-conforming 15-year-old, Lawrence King. He was shot and killed in his middle school classroom by 14-year-old classmate Brandon McInerney.
Investigating the case Cunningham felt compelled to challenge what she perceived as a homophobic portrayal of King in the mainstream media. She began attending McInerney's pre-trial motions and hearings. "The more she looked into the case, the more she uncovered a web of complications and nuance that just wasn’t being given a fair hearing by the media, let alone the courts."[3]
Embedding herself in the city of Oxnard, California, Cunningham spent five years developing trust with the community and accumulating over 350 hours of footage. The result was an 89-minute documentary described by the Los Angeles Times as a film where: "Cunningham masterfully weaves a kind of cinematic memorial quilt to King, who, just prior to his death, was living in a group home/treatment center away from his adoptive parents. [...] Archival news footage, school surveillance video and courtroom renderings round out this powerful, heartbreaking reminder of the bold, cross-dressing boy with a misplaced crush who was too often deemed the cause of his own murder."[4]
HBO aired the documentary at the start of their 2013 Fall season. As a result, Valentine Road was nominated for Emmys in the Best Documentary and Best Longform Narrative category at the 35th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards.[5]
USA Today praised the film as: "Haunting, heartfelt and even handed" recommended that: "Valentine Road should be required viewing in teaching tolerance on middle school and high school campuses."[6]
References
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