Private Film Screening & Alumni Filmmaker Q&A feat. ASSASSINS

About the Workshop

Join us for a special film screening of Assassins, a Sundance Film Festival premiere directed by Ryan White ’04, followed by a talkback with White, producer Jessica Hargrave, executive producer Doug Bock Clark ’09, and associate producer Grace Oathout ’16. Moderated by Dave Karger ’95, Turner Classic Movies host and NBC Today Show commentator.

Inspired by Duke alum Doug Bock Clark’s 2017 GQ article “The Untold Story of Kim Jong-nam’s Assassination,” the film investigates the assassination of Kim Jong-nam—the half-brother of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un—in the bustling departures hall of Malaysia’s international airport. The spectacularly brazen murder happened in broad daylight, filmed entirely by security cameras. Footage showed two young women approaching Jong-nam from behind, covering his eyes with their hands, and pressing VX—the most lethal nerve gas on earth—into his eyes.

The film travels from the inner sanctums of Pyongyang to the rice fields of Indonesia and Vietnam to the courtrooms of Kuala Lumpur to tell an extraordinary tale of manipulation and subterfuge in the age of social media. A masterful investigation that offers an unprecedented look at the real story of Kim Jong-nam’s murder, Assassins is the wildly improbable tale of a calculating dictator, a nefarious plot, a very public murder, and two women fighting for their lives.

Presented with Duke Entertainment, Media & Arts Network (DEMAN), Duke Alumni Association, Duke Arts, Duke Asian Alumni Alliance (DAAA), Duke’s Asian American & Diaspora Studies Program (AADS), Duke Career Center, DukeCreate, Duke LGBTQ+ Network, Duke Cinematic Arts & Screen/Society, and the Center for Documentary Studies.

About the Location

This workshop will meet online via Zoom. You’ll need a special link to join the workshop—follow the registration link at the top of page to get it.