For almost 40 years, Nick Broomfield has been throwing himself into conflict with little more than a camera for protection. He’s made movies about world leaders, famous performers, wars and murderers with the same degree of intimate curiosity. His latest, and what many people are calling his best, is “Tales of the Grim Sleeper,” about a serial killer who stalked South Central, Los Angeles, and the incredible negligence of the LAPD, premiering on HBO on Monday, April 27th. The police viewed the case as beneath their consideration as the victims were mostly drug addicts and prostitutes. When they finally arrested the man responsible, Lonnie Franklin, in 2010, the number of people he killed was still an open question, as so many went unreported. The community was more frightened of the police than of a serial killer. Broomfield uncovers this, and what feels like a hundred more pieces of damning evidence, over the course of his unsolicited investigation. I sat down with Nick Broomfield at the New York Film Festival last year to talk about his achievement here, along with his cameraman and son Barney, and the woman who helped them infiltrate the community that was the Grim Sleeper’s hunting ground, Pam Brooks. Brooks had come in contact with Lonnie Franklin years ago and lived to tell about it. Her involvement with the film was her way of giving back to the other women still in dire circumstances who were in mortal jeopardy every day they walked the streets of South Central. 

Interview with Nick Broomfield, Barney Broomfield and Pam Brooks from RogerEbert.com on Vimeo.

Scout Tafoya

Scout Tafoya is a critic and filmmaker who writes for and edits the arts blog Apocalypse Now and directs both feature length and short films.

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