On December 14, 2012, a disturbed young man committed a horrific mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, that took the lives of 20 elementary school children and six educators. Kim A. Snyder's searing new documentary NEWTOWN, filmed over the course of nearly three years, uses deeply personal, never-before-heard testimonies to relate the aftermath of the deadliest mass shooting of schoolchildren in American history. Through raw and heartbreaking interviews with parents, siblings, teachers, doctors and first responders, Newtown documents a traumatized community still reeling from the senseless tragedy, fractured by grief but driven toward a sense of purpose. Newtown premieres on INDEPENDENT LENS Monday, April 3, 2017, 10:00-11:30PM ET (check local listings) on PBS.
There are no words of compassion or reassurance that can bring back those who lost their lives during the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Instead, Snyder delves into the lives and homes of those who remain, all of whom have been indelibly changed by the events. They speak candidly about their grief, anger and disbelief over what occurred and their disappointment that nothing has truly changed with regard to the country's legal response to gun violence. Newtown bears witness to their profound grief and allows it to reverberate within our collective conscience, exploring what happens to a community after it becomes the epicenter of a national discussion and what it must cope with after the cameras leave. "Working with Kim on this film has been a deeply rewarding experience," said Lois Vossen, INDEPENDENT LENS executive producer. "The team was committed to making a film that was incisive without being exploitative. Newtown shows the impact of trauma on a community, the grief gun violence causes and how we begin to heal and move forward."Videos