Four Died Trying is a documentary film cycle which explores the extraordinary lives and catastrophic deaths of President John Kennedy, Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King., Jr., and Senator Robert Kennedy. What connects their murders? Did their ever-deepening commitment to end war, poverty and injustice lead directly to their assassinations?   What forces gained by their demise, and to what extent do they still shape the world of today?

 

In more than 130 interviews, we put those and countless other questions to family members, colleagues, friends, enemies, and eyewitnesses to their murders.  Some have spoken here for the for the first time,  too many for the last.

 

Four Died Trying is an on-going production, and we are releasing chapters as they are completed, onto various streaming platforms.  Every chapter is a handcrafted, stand-alone film, embodying many years of research, interviews and editing.  Each film is filled with information and ideas that we hope will invite repeated viewings and discussions.  There will be a period of some months between each new release.

 

The Prologue, available now on various platforms, is an overview of many of the themes that appear throughout.  Chapter One: The World as it Was will reveal the Red Scare and the rise of the military-industrial complex. The next few chapters present a surprising new look at the Kennedy administration, ending with the President’s murder.  Subsequent films delve into the courageous struggles of Malcolm X, Dr. King, and Robert Kennedy, each to the point of their deaths.

 

From there, we will explore the overwhelming evidence that the major assassinations of the 1960’s were state crimes against democracy, and learn why understanding them in this way is essential to our moving forward in the present. 

 

All throughout this cycle of films, we will not lose focus on what these men “died trying” to accomplish, in hopes that the courage to face death for a world more peaceful, just, and free, may be passed to a new generation.

Join the conversation and help bring our hidden history to light.