Newtown
A portrait of community resilience following a deadly mass shooting
2016 | Running Time: 85 minutes | Rating: NR
NEWTOWN tells a story of the aftermath of one of the deadliest mass shootings of school children in American history when on December 14, 2012, 28 people were killed. In the wake of this tragedy, the film shows a traumatized community fractured by grief and driven toward a sense of purpose. The family and friends of the victims join the ranks of a growing club to which no one wants to belong: people connected by being profoundly affected by gun violence and propelled toward introspection and action. Making the political issues at stake personal, NEWTOWN weaves together an intimate story of community resilience. The film premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. Director/Producer: Kim A. Snyder; Producer: Maria Cuomo Cole; Executive Producers; CarolAnne Dolan, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Sally Jo Fifer, Liz Lefkofsky, Mara Sandler, Regina K. Scully, Nick Stuart, Lois Vossen, Jamie Wolf
Kim A. Snyder, Director, Producer
Kim A. Snyder is an award-winning director, producer, and advocate for film’s ability to promote social change. Her endeavour to create socially-conscious films inspired her to co-found the BeCause Foundation, which makes documentary films taking on complex social issues. Her films include NEWTOWN (2016), NOTES FROM DUNBLANE: LESSON FROM A SCHOOL SHOOTING (2018) and WELCOME TO SHELBYVILLE (2009). 32 PILLS is her directorial debut.
Maria Cuomo Cole, Producer
Maria Cuomo Cole is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, activist and advocate, whose acclaimed documentaries have tackled leading social issues like gun violence, homelessness, PTSD, domestic violence and sexual violence. Her films that have altered our social and political landscape include NEWTOWN (2016), NOTES FROM DUNBLANE: LESSON FROM A SCHOOL SHOOTING (2018), THE HUNTING GROUND (2015) and THE INVISIBLE WAR (2012).
Sundance Film Festival 2016: Grand Jury Prize – Documentary (nomination)
SXSW Film Festival 2016: SXSW Gamechanger Award (nomination)
Critics Choice Awards 2016: Best Political Documentary (nomination)
Cleveland International Film Festival 2016: Nesnady and Schwartz Documentary Competition (nomination)
“Snyder’s film argues against the forgetting, the brushing aside, the disassociation, the drifting away of memory.”
IndieWire