Exclusive Film Screening Invitation | In the Cold Dark Night
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37 years ago Timothy Coggins, a young black man, was brutally murdered in 1983 in a small Georgia town due, in part, to his relationship with a white woman. But after authorities stopped investigating and the Coggins family received threats to remain quiet, the case went cold for decades. When the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation reopened the case in 2017, eventually charging Frankie Gebhardt and William Moore, Sr. with Coggins’ murder despite not having new DNA evidence, the documentary team were there to capture the developments. The producers gained unprecedented access to the sheriff’s department and even discovered evidence that in the ’80s, a local police officer infiltrated the KKK, which claimed to have members in the local police department. “In the Cold Dark Night” features exclusive footage from inside the courtroom and examines the small town’s “community and its culture, including the deep-rooted racism that affected Coggins’ case, the role of law enforcement, and the journey for justice.”

‘In The Cold Dark Night’ highlights how one era enabled this crime to go without punishment and how the other attempts to bring justice decades later. Featuring a 360-degree view of all people involved within the case, the documentary conveys themes of hope and resilience, while asking audiences to become the juries themselves; questioning their presumptions of guilt, innocence, and authority.
Date: 23 November 2020, 17:15 (Monday, 7th week, Michaelmas 2020)
Venue: Vimeo
Speakers: Rhonda Hadi (Associate Professor of Marketing, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford), Stephen Morse (Director and Screenwriter)
Organising department: Saïd Business School
Organiser contact email address: oxfordsaid.events@sbs.ox.ac.uk
Host: Rhonda Hadi (Associate Professor of Marketing, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford)
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Public
Editor: Lani Fukada