Forty years after the Jonestown massacre – one of the most horrific incidents in recent American history – a documentary will shine a light on cult leader Jim Jones and his followers.
Co-produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonestown: Terror in the Jungle charts the rise of Jones and The Peoples Temple cult, eventually showing how they came to be responsible for killing more than 900 people.
At the time, there was substantial news coverage of the incident, with some publications branding the event “mass suicide”. Survivors of Jonestown – the name of the cult’s settlement in Guyana – labelled it “mass murder”.
The two-part documentary is based on the work of investigative journalist Jeff Guinn, who also acts a producer, and features archival footage, recreations and new interviews from those close affected by the incident.
Along with DiCaprio and Guin, Jennifer Davisson of Appian Way and Stephen David of Stephen David Entertainment are producing. Shan Nicholson has directed the show.
America’s SundanceTV will begin airing the show on Saturday, 17 November, and concludes the following night.
