I, Sniper: In conversation with the team behind the docuseries

Join WFTV for an insider's look into Channel 4's I, Sniper, the gripping, minute-by-minute account of the Washington DC sniper case, told by the surviving perpetrator, the victims’ families and those who survived.

In the autumn of 2002, Washington DC and surrounding suburbs were paralysed by a terrifying wave of random shootings from a sniper’s rifle, lasting over 23 days. Ten people were killed in this attack on the American capital, and three others critically injured. Now, in a six-hour television event, alongside the investigators, survivors and victims’ families, the surviving perpetrator recounts his story in a series of phone calls conducted over two years from his Supermax prison cell in Virginia, where he is in solitary confinement.

We’ll be joined by Series Director Ursula Macfarlane, Series Producer Mary-Jane Mitchell and Co-founder and Creative Director of Arrow Pictures John Smithson. The panel, chaired by Ruth Pitt, Journalist, consultant and executive producer, will discuss their roles in this remarkable docuseries, over four years in the making, and we'll hear about their journey from idea and commission to production.

I, Sniper airs on Channel 4 on Monday 24 January at 10pm.

Event Schedule:

17:55: Please join the webinar waiting room

18:00: Panel in conversation

18:45: Attendee Q&A opens

19:00: Finish

Speakers

Ursula Macfarlane, Film and TV Director

Ursula's latest film is The Lost Sons, a feature documentary for CNN Films which premiered earlier this year at SXSW Film Festival. The film tells the story of a family mystery which begins with a kidnapping in 1960s Chicago, and due for release early 2022. Her feature documentary Untouchable, about the rise and fall of Harvey Weinstein, made with Academy Award-winning producer Simon Chinn, premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was broadcast on Hulu and BBC Two. She recently directed a 6-part series about the Washington Sniper, which premieres in the UK early 2022. In 2018 I was nominated for the best single documentary BAFTA for the BBC Three feature documentary, One Deadly Weekend in America, telling the stories of the fatal shootings of seven young people over one weekend in America. Ursula is currently making a feature documentary for Netflix about a controversial 1990s icon. Other recent work can be seen in the Netflix hostage-negotiation drama-documentary series Captive and West Side Stories: The Making of a Classic for BBC Two. Other credits include Charlie Hebdo: Three Days that Shook Paris for More4, Tsunami: Survivors’ Stories and The Life and Death of Karen Woo for ITV, Warwick Davis’s Big Night for BBC Two’s Modern Times, and Notes from the Inside with James Rhodes and the feature documentary Breaking Up with the Joneses for Channel 4. Her films have premiered at Sundance, SXSW, CH:DOX amongst others, and gained Emmy, BAFTA, Grierson, RTS, Broadcast, Mind Media and One World Media awards and nominations.

Mary-Jane Mitchell - Filmmaker and Producer

Mary-Jane Mitchell is a British filmmaker based in New York City. She has developed and produced numerous films over the course of her career. Most recently co-creating I-Sniper, a six-hour documentary serial with John Smithson’s Arrow Pictures, for which she was Series Producer; developing American Animals and The Imposter with director Bart Layton; creating and producing Mister Untouchable with Alex Gibney and Marc Levin; she was the primary correspondent on Eugene Jarecki’s multi award winning film Why We Fight. Mary-Jane has developed several scripted projects most recently for Universal Pictures and director Paul Greengrass. She is currently producing a feature documentary for Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment.

John Smithson, Co-founder and Creative Director, Arrow Pictures

An Oscar-nominated and Emmy award-winning producer, John has been responsible for a distinguished slate of high quality films and groundbreaking series which have received global acclaim. John was an Oscar® nominee for Best Motion Picture of the Year for Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours, a film he originated and produced, which was also nominated for 86 Awards including six Oscars and nine BAFTAs. His theatrical documentary Touching the Void won the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film and broke box-office records. He also jointly produced Sherpa, which picked up five awards including Best Documentary at the London Film Festival and a Best Documentary nomination at the BAFTA Film Awards.

John’s documentary credits include The Beckoning Silence, winner of the International Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Documentary; BAFTA-nominated The Falling Man; Best Cinema Documentary winner Deep Water in the Grierson Awards; Emmy-nominated Time Travel with Stephen Hawking; and the multi-award-winning HBO documentary Thrilla in Manilla, winner of a Peabody Award.

How will the online event work?

This event will be live streamed via Zoom.us. Viewing details will be sent via your confirmation.

Attending participants will not be visible to others and will be muted throughout the session. After the talk, there will be an opportunity for audience members to ask their questions to the panel by using the Q&A feature.

This event is for existing WFTV members only.

If you are not a member and would like to join, membership costs just £100 + VAT/yr , please click here or email admin@wftv.org.uk

At WFTV we’re really keen to ensure that all our events are accessible for everyone. So if you have any particular access needs, please can you let us know before an event and we will do our best to accommodate you. We would be grateful if you can give us as much notice as possible – please contact admin@wftv.org.uk