“The Art of Political Murder,” a real-life political thriller about the investigation into the murder of Guatemalan Bishop Juan Gerardi, airs tonight on HBO at 9:00pm pst.
Based on Francisco Goldman’s award-winning book of the same name. The film is executive produced by Oscar winner George Clooney and Grant Heslov and tells the story of the 1998 murder of Guatemalan human rights activist Bishop Juan Gerardi, in midst of a country ravages by decades of political violence and fights for justice.
“Bishop Juan Gerardi tried to expose crimes and corruption in Guatemala and paid for it with his life,” says executive producer George Clooney. “Grant and I are proud to help show his courage to the rest of the world.”
Just two days after publishing a damning report blaming the atrocities of the civil war on the Guatemalan military, Bishop Gerardi is found bludgeoned to death in the parish house garage in the Church of San Sebastián in Guatemala. Fearing a cover-up, the young investigators who co-wrote the report with Gerardi, defy dangerous intimidations to expose a web of conspiracy and murder that entangles the upper echelons of the government.
The film chronicles the investigation into the murder, highlighting the team of young investigators who take on the case and begin to unearth deception, misconduct and corruption that reached the highest levels of government.
The film interweaves archival footage and photos with present-day interviews of those involved in exposing the truth of Gerardi’s murder, many of whom speak to his ongoing legacy, including: Ronalth Ochaeta, director of the Catholic Church’s Human Rights Office; Edgar Gutierrez, director of the Recovery of Historical Memory Project, who worked closely with Gerardi; Francisco Goldman, author of “The Art of Political Murder”; human rights activist Helen Mack; journalist Claudia Méndez Arriaza; former ODHA human rights investigators Rodrigo Salvadó, Arturo Aguilar and Fernando Penados; former Guatemalan Public Ministry special prosecutors Otto Ardón and Leopoldo Zeissig; private investigator and attorney Jack Palladino; Mynor Melgar, former head of the ODHA legal team; and eyewitness Rubén Chanax, whose bombshell testimony at trial changed the course of the case.
“The Art of Political Murder” is part of a collection of five enthralling crime-focused documentary films that premiere on Wednesdays, beginning November 18. Each title goes beyond the sensational headlines to explore the human toll on all sides of a crime and delves deep into the internal and external worlds of perpetrators, victims and survivors.
This anthology includes Academy Award winner Alex Gibey’s profile of a pioneering forensic psychiatrist who has studied some of the most notorious serial killers in “Crazy Not Insane;” an unsolved airplane hijacking in “The Mystery of DB Cooper;” a shocking examination into Las Vegas fertility specialist, Dr. Quincy Fortier in “Baby God;” and the haunting tale of an attempted murder by a religious snake handler in “Alabama Snake.”
Today, posters and graffiti of Bishop Gerardi around Guatemala speak to the legacy of his work – and the legacy of those who fought to reveal how power seeks to suppress opposition with impunity. For them, the fight for justice continues.
