Melissa Ross
The HBO documentary film shot in Jacksonville that tells the story of the Jordan Davis shooting and the trial of Michael Dunn will screen on the Florida State University campus this weekend before it premieres on national television next week.
In an e-blast, the group Generation Progress has announced the screening in cooperation with HBO, the Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus, the Florida State University chapter of the NAACP, along with the League of Women Voters of Florida State University.
The advance screening of “3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets” is set for 6 p.m. Sunday at the Florida State University Student Life Cinema.
The film captures the trajectory of what happened after an infamous altercation at a Jacksonville gas station on Black Friday, 2012.
Dunn, a middle-age white man who was in the area from parts south for a wedding, exchanged angry words with local African-American teen Jordan Davis over the loud music coming from Davis’ Dodge Durango.
The 45-year-old Dunn fired 10 bullets at Davis and the car full of unarmed teenagers, killing 17-year-old Davis.
Dunn fled the scene, but was arrested the next day. His trial in Jacksonville rested on a claim of self-defense. The case drew national media attention, serving as a flash point in the contentious debate over U.S. gun violence and race relations. In Dunn’s first trial, the jury deadlocked on a first-degree murder charge, and a mistrial was declared.
In the second trial, Dunn was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole.
As the courtroom drama played, out, Davis’ parents, Ron Davis and Lucia McBath, became activists, speaking out against Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, and joining groups such as Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
According to the email, after the film a panel consisting of State Rep. Alan Williams, Danielle Gutierrez of the LWVFSU, and Jordan Greer of the FSU NAACP will address the issues raised by the film, and how Stand Your Ground and pending campus carry legislation would affect campus safety in Florida.
Meanwhile, “3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets” will premiere on HBO at 9 p.m. Nov. 23.
