The Matthew Shepard Story
| The Matthew Shepard Story | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Roger Spottiswoode |
| Produced by | Clara George |
| Written by |
John Wierick Jacob Krueger |
| Starring |
Shane Meier Sam Waterston |
| Music by | Jeff Danna Mychael Danna |
| Cinematography | John S. Bartley |
| Edited by | Dominique Fortin |
|
Release date
|
2002 |
|
Running time
|
88 minutes |
| Country | Canada United States |
| Language | English |
The Matthew Shepard Story is a 2002 award-winning Canadian-American television film by director Roger Spottiswoode based on the true story of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old gay youth who was murdered in 1998. The film scenario written by John Wierick and Jacob Krueger, it starred Shane Meier as Matthew and as Judy Shepard and Sam Waterston as Dennis Shepard.
Producers were Alliance Atlantis Communications, Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC) with the assistance of/with the participation of Canadian Television (CTV) and Cosmic Entertainment. The premiere was on 16 March 2002 on NBC, the same day HBO showed another Matthew Shepard film entitled The Laramie Project. The Matthew Shepard Story was also shown on CTV, with language versions show in many countries.
In 1998, a young gay man by the name of Matthew Shepard was robbed, viciously beaten and left tied to a fence to die. Although he's found by the police, rescued and hospitalized, he dies from his injuries. This film recounts the events after the conviction of the two men responsible for this hate motivated murder.
Matthew's parents, though satisfied by the conviction, are finding the sentencing phase of the trial more difficult. The parents initially want to request the death penalty for their son's murderers, but the mother, Judy Shepard (), starts to reconsider. As they struggle with their decision, they decide to reexamine the life of their son and rediscover his personality, his struggle to accept his homosexuality as a natural part of his being and above all, his generous humanity to others. All of this leads the parents to appeal to the court the way their son would have wanted, not out of vengeance but to represent best of what their son was and the tragedy of his loss.
The film went on to win many awards and nominated for others:
The film also contains soundtrack album with the following:
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