16 Shots

2019 American murder documentary the song Stefflon Don discography April 2025 16 Shots 16-Shots-DVD.jpg Dashcam image of the police confronting Laquan McDonald, below a view of the Chicago skyline DVD cover Richard Rowley Jacqueline SoohenJamie KalvenKarim Hajj Richard Rowley Brian McOmber Richard RowleyKarim Hajj Jacqueline SoohenFrancisco Bello Midnight Films Impact Partners Chicago Media Project The Bertha Foundation Showtime 2019 06 07 100 minutes United States English 16 Shots is an American documentary film about the murder of Laquan McDonald. Written and directed by Richard Rowley, it is an updated and expanded version of the 2018 movie The Blue Wall. It had a limited theatrical release on June 7, 2019, and started streaming on Showtime on June 14, 2019. It was released on DVD on August 4, 2020. 16 Shots won a News & Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Documentary and a Television Academy Honor and was nominated for a Peabody Award. Synopsis 16 Shots uses extensive interviews, combined with news reports and scenes of Chicago, to depict the murder of Laquan McDonald and subsequent events. On October 20, 2014, McDonald, a 17-year-old African-American, was shot to death by Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke. The police department initially ruled that the shooting was justifiable self-defense. More than a year later, police dashcam videos were released to the public, showing that McDonald was walking away from police officers when he was shot 16 times. There had been a cover-up of the actual events by members of the police department and various government officials. This caused widespread outrage at a time of national reexamination of the relations between police departments and minority communities. Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel fired police commissioner Garry McCarthy, Cook County state's attorney Anita Alvarez was voted out of office, and Emanuel himself decided not to run for reelection. Jason Van Dyke, the police officer who shot McDonald, was found guilty of second degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery. These events also led to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, and a consent decree for a federal judge to oversee numerous reforms of the Chicago Police Department. Production 16 Shots is an updated and expanded version of the documentary The Blue Wall. The earlier film, with a running time of 76 minutes, premiered at the Hot Docs film festival in Toronto on May 1, 2018. Critical reception Frank Scheck wrote in The Hollywood Reporter, "The film delivers its gripping account in clear, suspenseful fashion and includes news footage from the time and contemporary interviews with many of the principal figures involved... Freelance journalist Jamie Kalven, who covered the story extensively and is one of the film's producers, figures prominently, as do several activists and community leaders.... The filmmaker's intent was obviously to concentrate on the specific incident and its aftermath, but personal details would probably have enhanced the overall emotional impact. Nonetheless, 16 Shots is a worthy addition to what has sadly become a proliferating documentary subgenre." In RogerEbert.com Brian Tallerico said, "16 Shots isn't as much about the actual shooting of Laquan McDonald as one might expect. We don't hear from his family and friends. Instead, it's about the ripple effect that transformed a city that night.... 16 Shots is a very deliberate, ominous documentary, filled with views of the Chicago skyline and a pulsing score, but Rowley makes several smart decisions as a storyteller. First, he presents both sides. McCarthy, Van Dyke's attorney, Alvarez, and a few spokespeople for the FOP are on-hand to defend their actions..." In The New York Times Ken Jaworowski wrote, "Rowley interviews activists, witnesses, jurors and police representatives. Their frustrations would be easy to inflame, yet the director and his crew listen closely to what is being said, and allow time for those interviewed to work through their thoughts.... To be sure, the case has been extensively covered in the media, leaving this film to function largely as a summary of the shooting and the trial.... Still, 16 Shots remains valuable as a record of past events that hold sway over the present." Eric Zorn said in the Chicago Tribune, "... the film shortchanges viewers when it comes to... the cover-up – the brazen, outrageous, wide-ranging and still unpunished official effort to conceal, minimize and outright lie about what happened.... Much of this story will be new for viewers outside the Chicago area, and they'll be riveted by how it unfolded from a seemingly routine news event into a crushing scandal. They'll be justifiably impressed by the range of interview subjects and the effort that director Richard Rowley and producers Jacqueline Soohen and Jamie Kalven made to give both sides of the story time on camera." In the Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall wrote, "... by focusing primarily on the crime and its explosive aftermath and very little on McDonald himself, the filmmaker doesn't go far enough in his indictment of the CPD's so-termed "code of silence" because the problem doesn't stop with cover-ups... The fact that the circumstances of [McDonald's] upbringing match those of so many other young Black men in Chicago adds to, not detracts from, a forthright conversation about race." References Tracy Swartz June 11, 2019 https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/tv/ct-ent-cb-16-shots-documentary-laquan-mcdonald-20190611-story.html 5 Things to Know About '16 Shots,' the New Documentary About Laquan McDonald's Killing Chicago Tribune March 21, 2021 March 17, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210317014350/https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/tv/ct-ent-cb-16-shots-documentary-laquan-mcdonald-20190611-story.html live Matthew Carey September 23, 2020 https://www.nonfictionfilm.com/news/the-silence-of-others-wins-best-documentary-at-news-and-doc-emmy-awards 'The Silence of Others' Wins Best Documentary at News and Doc Emmy Awards Non Fiction Film March 21, 2021 March 1, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210301230311/https://www.nonfictionfilm.com/news/the-silence-of-others-wins-best-documentary-at-news-and-doc-emmy-awards live Daniele Alcinii April 2, 2020 https://realscreen.com/2020/04/02/16-shots-at-the-heart-of-gold-among-television-academy-honors/ "16 Shots", "At the Heart of Gold" Among Television Academy Honors Realscreen July 21, 2021 June 14, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210614183133/https://realscreen.com/2020/04/02/16-shots-at-the-heart-of-gold-among-television-academy-honors/ live Hilary Lewis May 6, 2020 https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/peabody-awards-nominations-2020-list-full-1289403/childrens-youth/ Peabody Awards: 'American Factory', 'Dickinson', 'Watchmen' Among Nominees Hollywood Reporter July 21, 2021 July 21, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210721095405/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/peabody-awards-nominations-2020-list-full-1289403/childrens-youth/ live Amanda Vinicky February 27, 2020 https://news.wttw.com/2020/02/27/chicago-police-consent-decree-approaches-1-year-anniversary Chicago Police Consent Decree Approaches 1-Year Anniversary WTTW March 21, 2021 The court-enforced overhaul of CPD practices was prompted by the murder of Laquan McDonald by a Chicago police officer and a subsequent federal Department of Justice investigation amid the fallout from that shooting. April 2, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210402133527/https://news.wttw.com/2020/02/27/chicago-police-consent-decree-approaches-1-year-anniversary live Eric Zorn May 4, 2018 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/zorn/ct-perspec-zorn-laquan-mcdonald-jason-van-dyke-documentary-0506-20180504-story.html Coming Soon: A Laquan McDonald Documentary That Makes the Story Even Worse Chicago Tribune March 21, 2021 October 19, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20181019163034/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/zorn/ct-perspec-zorn-laquan-mcdonald-jason-van-dyke-documentary-0506-20180504-story.html live Norman Wilner April 25, 2018 https://nowtoronto.com/movies/reviews/hot-docs-the-blue-wall/ Hot Docs review: The Blue Wall Now Magazine March 21, 2021 February 10, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210210090140/https://nowtoronto.com/movies/reviews/hot-docs-the-blue-wall/ dead C.J. Prince May 5, 2018 http://www.thecinessential.com/cjprince/2018/5/5/hot-docs-the-blue-wall Hot Docs 2018: The Blue Wall The Cinessential March 21, 2021 October 7, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201007182858/http://www.thecinessential.com/cjprince/2018/5/5/hot-docs-the-blue-wall live Frank Scheck June 7, 2019 https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/16-shots-1216582 '16 Shots': Film Review The Hollywood Reporter March 21, 2021 January 17, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210117165818/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/16-shots-1216582 live Brian Tellerico June 7, 2019 https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/16-shots-2019 16 Shots RogerEbert.com March 21, 2021 February 4, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210204034058/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/16-shots-2019 live Ken Jaworowski June 6, 2019 https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/06/movies/16-shots-review.html '16 Shots' Review: Chicago's Rage After a Killing by the Police The New York Times March 21, 2021 December 28, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201228180326/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/06/movies/16-shots-review.html live Eric Zorn June 13, 2019 https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/eric-zorn/ct-perspec-zorn-laquan-mcdonald-documentary-jason-van-dyke-showtime-20190613-story.html Laquan McDonald Documentary Glosses Over the Lingering Outrage of the Notorious Case Chicago Tribune March 21, 2021 February 10, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210210090248/https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/eric-zorn/ct-perspec-zorn-laquan-mcdonald-documentary-jason-van-dyke-showtime-20190613-story.html live Andrea Gronvall June 13, 2019 https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/16-shots-rick-rowley-laquan-mcdonald/Content?oid=70924818 16 Shots Focuses Too Much on the Laquan McDonald Shooting at the Expense of McDonald Himself Chicago Reader March 21, 2021 August 19, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200819080539/https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/16-shots-rick-rowley-laquan-mcdonald/Content?oid=70924818 live External links www.sho.com/titles/3466069/16-shots tt10331828 16 Shots 16_shots 16 Shots Category:2019 documentary films Category:2019 films Category:American documentary films Category:Showtime (TV network) documentary films Category:2019 English-language films Category:2019 American films Category:News & Documentary Emmy Award–winning programs Category:Television Academy Honors winners Category:English-language documentary films