Producer – Ben Loeterman

In Distribution (feature length)

Click here to read the reviews and purchase a copy of the DVD.

In the pre–dawn hours of April 27, 1913, the night watchman at an Atlanta pencil factory made a grisly discovery. It was the body of a young girl, Mary Phagan – beaten, strangled, and so covered in soot that it was not immediately clear whether she was black or white.

Two years later, on the morning of August 17, 1915, the body of Leo Frank – her accused murderer – was found hanging from a tree just yards from the Marietta, GA, home where the little girl grew up.

What transpired between those two bleak years was a drama that consumed the city of Atlanta, occupied the front page of every major American newspaper and captivated public attention around the world. It was the OJ Simpson case of its day: a horrific crime followed by a frenzy of media coverage; a sensational trial with a colorful cast, capped off by a controversial verdict that inspires fevered debate to this day.

The first major documentary to examine this story, The People vs. Leo Frank combines the intrigue of a first–rate murder mystery with poignant portraits of its central characters and a revealing look at racial, religious and class prejudices at the dawn of the 20th Century.

The People v. Leo Frank Trailer from Ben Loeterman on Vimeo.

Read what the critics are saying about the film:

“It’s fascinating history well presented, but that’s only part of what makes this film linger in the mind. The biases and divisions brought to the surface by the Frank case are still easy to find today.”
The New York Times

“Frank was an ordinary man most distinguished for his outsider status. For that, he was savaged. As Loeterman’s film documents painfully, the scars still haven’t healed.”
The Associated Press

The film had its national television premiere on PBS on Monday, November 2, 2009.

Visit the film’s website for more information.