4:00pm, SUNDAY, 9/25 BUY TICKETS
On August 1st, 1966, a sniper rode the elevator to the top floor of the University of Texas Tower and opened fire, holding the campus hostage for 96 minutes. When the gunshots were finally silenced, the toll included 16 dead, three dozen wounded, and a shaken nation left trying to understand. Combining archival footage with rotoscopic animation in a dynamic, never-before-seen way, TOWER reveals the action-packed untold stories of the witnesses, heroes and survivors of America’s first mass school shooting, when the worst in one man brought out the best in so many others.
Documentary; Intended for mature audiences (contains images and descriptions of gun violence)
Director: Keith Maitland
Keith was drawn to the story of the Texas Tower shooting when he first heard about the shooting from an eye-witness — his 7th grade history teacher. A graduate of the University of Texas, Keith began researching for TOWER after the 40th anniversary of the shooting in 2006 and began production on TOWER in 2012. Keith Maitland is the director of the ITVS-funded, Emmy-nominated, THE EYES OF ME, a year-in-the-life of four blind teens. EYES broadcast on PBS’s Independent Lens and was honored with a Barbara Jordan Media Award by the State of Texas. Director of documentary features, commercials, and TV series, his credits also include 7 seasons with NBC’s LAW & ORDER as an AD. Keith is a graduate of the Director’s Guild of America Trainee Program and the PBS Producer’s Academy.