Showtime Documentary Films Announces Premiere of 16 SHOTS

Showtime Documentary Films today announced it will premiere the new documentary 16 SHOTS from Academy Award® nominated director Richard Rowley (Dirty Wars) on Friday, June 14 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The feature examines the 2014 shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke and the cover-up that ensued. After the police initially declared the shooting as justified, journalists and activists fought for footage of the event to be released, sending the Chicago Police Department and local Chicago government officials into upheaval as the community demanded justice. Rowley's film dissects the cover-up through first-hand witness accounts which led to the unprecedented conviction that fractured the political landscape of Chicago.

Watch the trailer for 16 SHOTS below!

"The shooting of Laquan McDonald tore up Chicago in ways the city is still processing today," said Vinnie Malhotra, Executive Vice President, Nonfiction Programming, Showtime Networks Inc. "With 16 SHOTS, Rick Rowley and his team deliver an unflinching and deep look at one of the most notorious police shootings in our history."

Rowley is an Academy Award-nominated director and Sundance Film Festival winning cinematographer with 20 years of experience producing and directing for screen and television. Rowley's Dirty Wars was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In addition to directing, he also serves as cinematographer on many of his projects, including the docu-series America Divided and Documenting Hate: Charlottesville.

16 SHOTS is a joint production from Midnight Productions, Topic Studios, Impact Partners and Chicago Media Project. Jacqueline Soohen, Michael Bloom, Lisa Leingang, Dan Cogan, Jenny Raskin, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Ken Nolan and Brian Kenney serve as executive producers.