Paradise Lost Two: Revelations

In 1996, this pair filmed Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, a disturbing documentary about three teenagers who were convicted of brutally murdering three second-graders in Memphis, Arkansas. These teens were depicted by the prosecutors as satanic cult worshippers and were found guilty largely on the basis of this accusation. The original film made a case for the teens' innocence and also raised doubt about the alibi of the father of one of the second-graders. Paradise Lost 2: Revelations now returns to the scene of the crime. The teens still remain in prison and the father of the murdered tot, Mark Byers, remains a suspect in the eyes of Berlinger and Sinofsky. In this follow-up documentary, Byers speaks openly with the filmmakers, who also follow the prisoners' appeal process (which was ultimately denied by the same judge who presided at their conviction). Byers reveals to the filmmakers a great deal of disturbing circumstantial evidence: a knife that fits the description of the murder weapon, a mysteriously deceased wife, and many curious faux pas. This should be a fine example of advocacy filmmaking. (TVMA, 133 min.) The Texas Documentary Tour is co-sponsored by the Austin Film Society, the UT Department of RTF, The Austin Chronicle, KLRU-TV, and SXSW Film.