Nick Broomfield’s Real-Life Crime Drama
Written by Maggie Glass
Throughout the making of the documentary, Broomfield – older, British, and white – couldn’t help but stand out in the predominantly black neighborhood of South Central. At the post-screening discussion, Broomfield talked about the process of entering spaces as an outsider. “I think the way you go into an environment is one of the most important things,” he said. “We spent a long time finding the right person to take us in. I think the key is you really always have somebody from that particular community, as your goodwill angel, who looks after you and takes you in. If we had just gone in alone it would have been very different.”
For Bloomfield and his crew, the woman who looked after them was Pam Brooks, a former drug addict and sex worker whose familiarity with the neighborhood was crucial to their investigation. Charismatic and sharp, Brooks spoke with passion about the women who had disappeared and how their identities as young, black, and female rendered them invisible to law enforcement. Bloomfield also interviewed members of the Black Coalition Fighting Back Serial Murders, a group of women who were angered by the lack of attention from the police while a serial killer was clearly on the loose.
As for Lonnie Franklin, his neighbors were initially shocked by the allegations against him, but many later reached out to the crew to talk about past misgivings and red flags. “We were basically asking the most uncomfortable questions,” said Broomfield. “I think they were all, in their own way, quite worried about being so close to someone who had killed so many people.” In answering a question about those who may not have known about the murders but engaged in other illegal and questionable activity, Broomfield answered, “It’s very easy to cut this film so that all the friends of Lonnie are the devil. I don’t think any of them were all bad. I think they are living in a very specific set of circumstances that are hard to imagine. It’s really more like living in a war zone.”
For more about Tales of the Grim Sleeper, visit the film page on the DOC NYC website.
Maggie Glass is a New York based writer and film editor.
