Directed by filmmaker Adam Pertofsky and produced by Margaret Hyde, the 32-minute film describes the weeks and days leading up to King's return in 1968 to assist sanitation workers striking in Memphis, Tennessee. On April 4, as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel outside of Room 306 greeting visitors below, King was assassinated by a gunman. With an intimate portrayal provided by Samuel "Billy" Kyles who himself was on the balcony only a few feet away when the fatal shot was fired, the film is an introduction to the legacy of King as revealed in conversations and personal aspirations shared with Kyles and others who played a key role in the Civil Rights Movement during that pivotal era of U.S. history.[1]
Although numerous films have been made on Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement, Witness looks at King's work from the perspective of a friend and one of the last surviving eyewitnesses (Rev. Kyles). The film contributes original personal interviews along with a local perspective. Shot on-location in Memphis at several historic sites, it highlights King's efforts to improve physical safety and financial conditions of the sanitation workers in the city where he ultimately met his untimely death.[2]
In addition to Kyles, others interviewed for the film include Benjamin Hooks, Civil Rights Leader and former Executive Director of the NAACP, Maxine Smith, previous Executive Secretary for the NAACP Memphis Branch, and Taylor Rodgers, one of the original sanitation workers who participated in the strike for better working conditions and had marched alongside King and Kyles.[3]
"The Witness" is a regular feature [2] at the National Civil Rights Museum that is situated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, where a wreath marks the location of the balcony outside of Room 306 where King was standing when he was shot and period automobiles adorn the parking lot below.[4]
Production
Filming began in February 2008, with an April 1, 2008 deadline for completion in time for the 40th memorial of King's death. It was done on location at the Lorraine Motel and at several other historic sites in Memphis including the National Civil Rights Museum and Mason Temple Church of God in Christ. About the project, director Adam Pertosfsky said, "I've always had a passion for Dr. King's teachings and the Civil Rights Movement, so when Margaret Hyde, the producer, approached me about doing this film, I was ecstatic. I felt it was a very important piece of history that needed to be documented."[5]
Regarding the effort that took the film from inception to screening in seven months, Executive Producer Margaret Hyde said, "Everyone, especially Rev. Kyles, participated with the proviso that we didn't seek to personally benefit from the film and that all proceeds would go to the Museum. We knew we just couldn't think of making the film any other way. Everyone interviewed in the film donated his or her time and we were able to screen the film at the NCRM in time for the 40th anniversary of Dr. King's assassination commemoration."[6]
Kyles, reflecting on why he was present on that balcony that day and how it became clear only much later: "He was there to help keep alive King's legacy and his dream of equal rights for African-Americans. 'Crucifixions have to have witnesses,' says Kyles. 'You can kill the dreamer but you cannot...kill the dream.'"[7]
Awards and Academy Awards nomination
The film received positive critical acclaim and received an Oscar nomination at the 2009 Academy Awards for "Best Documentary Short Subject".[8] At the 2008 Palm Springs International ShortFest, it won the Audience "Favorite" Award for "Best Documentary" along with the Jury award for Best Documentary.[9] It won in these categories at the Aspen Film Shortsfest 2009,[10] and received "Best Documentary Short" at the 2009 Nashville Film Festival [11] and at the Riverrun International Film Festival 2009.[12]LA Times television critic Robert Lloyd described the film as "powerful".[13]
^Gray, Madison (March 31, 2008). "Martin Luther King: An Assassination Remembered". Time Magazine. Archived from the original on April 5, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2012. Kyles arrived at the Lorraine Motel to pick up his friends at 5 p.m. and came to King's room, where he also met up with Rev. Ralph Abernathy.
^ abHolmes, T.J. (October 21, 2011). "Rev. Samuel Kyles - CNN.com Blogs". Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Archived from the original(Video) on January 2, 2013. Retrieved February 6, 2012. T.J. Holmes visits the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. It is built around the former Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968.
^"About NRCM". National Civil Rights Museum. Retrieved February 6, 2012. 2009 Academy Award nominated documentary, "The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306"
^White, Thomas (February 2009). "Meet the Academy Award® Nominees: Adam Pertofsky--The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306". International Documentary Association. Retrieved January 29, 2012. I've always had a passion for Dr. King's teachings and the Civil Rights Movement, so when Margaret Hyde, the producer, approached me about doing this film, I was ecstatic. I felt it was a very important piece of history that needed to be documented.
^"THE WITNESS: From The Balcony of Room 306". BAD West – Black Association of Documentary Filmmakers West. April 6, 2009. Archived from the original on June 19, 2010. Retrieved January 29, 2012. Everyone, especially Rev. Kyles, participated with the proviso that we didn't seek to personally benefit from the film and that all proceeds would go to the Museum. We know we just couldn't think of making the film any other way. Everyone interviewed in the film donated his or her time and we were able to screen the film at the NCRM in time for the 40th anniversary of Dr. King's assassination commemoration.
^"HBO: The Witness (Synopsis)". HBO Documentary Category. Retrieved January 30, 2012. He was there to help keep alive King's legacy and his dream of equal rights for African-Americans. 'Crucifixions have to have witnesses,' says Kyles. 'You can kill the dreamer but you cannot...kill the dream.'
^"Aspen Film Shortsfest 2009 Awards". AspenFILM. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Best Documentary - The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306 . . . Audience Favorite Award - The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306
^"Awards Roundup: April 15–27, 2009". International Documentary Association. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Nashville Film Festival - Best Short Documentary
^"2009 Award Winners". RiverRun International Film Festival. Archived from the original on August 8, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2012. Best Documentary Short
^Lloyd, Robert (February 18, 2009). "The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 2, 2012. a powerful, Oscar-nominated short film . . . We are in the age of the blockbuster documentary, but bigger is not always better. A string quartet can cut deeper than a symphony. This is a chamber piece in which the dominant voice is, inevitably, King's own.
