MLK/FBI

About the Film

Documentary | 1 HR 42 MIN

“INCENDIARY . . . a sinister soap opera of espionage . . .”
– Owen Gleiberman, Variety

 

“Engrossing, unsettling . . . as timely as an alarm clock.”
– A.O. Scott, The New York Times

 

“A troubling, beautifully assembled archival documentary . . . reminds us just how far the J. Edgar Hoover-led FBI was willing to go to shame a civil rights icon and discredit his great work, a work that has never ceased and never will.”
– Justin Chang, LA Times

 

“Eye-opening and jaw-dropping . . . could not have arrived at a more pertinent moment.”
– David Fear, Rolling Stone

MLK/FBI (2020)

DOCUMENTARY  |  1 HR 42 MIN

 

Available for streaming February 19-21 ONLY

 

FREE | Donations are welcome and will help offset the streaming fees absorbed by Aspen Film.

 

After this content becomes available February 19th at 8:00 am CST, you’ll have 48 hours to start watching. Once you begin, you’ll have 24 hours to finish watching.

 

MLK/FBI is the first film to uncover the extent of the FBI’s surveillance and harassment of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Based on newly discovered and declassified files, utilizing a trove of documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and unsealed by the National Archives, as well as revelatory restored footage, the documentary explores the government’s history of targeting Black activists, and the contested meaning behind some of our most cherished ideals. Featuring interviews with key cultural figures including former FBI Director James Comey and directed by Emmy® Award-winner and Oscar®-nominee Sam Pollard, MLK/FBI tells this astonishing and tragic story with searing relevance to our current moment.

 

*A special Q&A is available after the film featuring Director Sam Pollard and Vanity Fair Editor-in-Chief Radhika Jones.

 

Official Selection:
2021 Documentary Oscar® Shortlist
Telluride Film Festival 2020
Toronto International Film Festival 2020
New York Film Festival 2020


Trailer


Related Films

BLACK TABLE (2024) Image

BLACK TABLE (2024)

93 MIN

US

BLACK TABLE is the story of how one of the largest classes of black students entering Yale in the mid-1990s embraced a dining hall table while struggling against the tide of history. In 1993, elite U.S. universities saw a surge in admissions of students of color, including one of the largest classes of black students […]
GOING VARSITY IN MARIACHI (2023) Image

GOING VARSITY IN MARIACHI (2023)

104 MIN

US

In the competitive world of high school mariachi, the musicians from the South Texas borderlands reign supreme. Under the guidance of Coach Abel Acuña, the teenage captains of Edinburg North High School’s acclaimed team must turn a shoestring budget and diverse crew of inexperienced musicians into state champions. In a South Texas high school auditorium, […]
MARLEE MATLIN: NOT ALONE ANYMORE (2025) Image

MARLEE MATLIN: NOT ALONE ANYMORE (2025)

97 MIN

US

In 1987, at the age of just 21, Marlee Matlin shattered expectations as the first Deaf actor to win an Academy Award® for her groundbreaking performance in CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD. Catapulted into the spotlight, she seized the moment to challenge an industry unprepared for her immense talent, emerging as a trailblazer not only […]
CHEECH & CHONG'S LAST MOVIE (2025) Image

CHEECH & CHONG'S LAST MOVIE (2025)

123 MIN

US

CHEECH AND CHONG'S LAST MOVIE defies documentary expectations, offering a wildly imaginative take on genre convention: a true-life tale told through a mix of animation and archival madness, all underscored by a classic cinematic road trip comedy. Tracing the enduring legacy of pioneering comics Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong, the film features interviews, sketches, and never-before-seen footage spanning the duo's five-decade career. The result is an unlikely story of friendship and fame, turmoil and defiance, rebellion and ultimately - redemption.

Working to Enlighten, Enrich, Educate, and Entertain Through Film