While Gosnell is locked behind bars, his story isn’t.
Monday night, filmmakers released the trailer for 3801 Lancaster: American Tragedy, a documentary exposing the ghoulish case of Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell. Along with exclusive interviews with detectives, investigators, journalists and victims, the film features the infamous figure himself: Kermit Gosnell. The film hits theaters Nov. 10.
In the absence of traditional media, the film aims to tell the “story of violence, greed, and a coverup that shook the nation.”
Kermit Gosnell was convicted in May of 2013 for first-degree murder of three babies. The trial, in which witnesses described baby abortion survivors “swimming" in toilets “to get out,” attracted a scant 12-15 reporters. Only after 56 days, multiple letters from members of the House of Representatives and a public outcry, did all three broadcast networks report on Gosnell.
3801 Lancaster marks the address of Gosnell’s “House of Horrors” clinic.
A hint of what’s to come, the trailer included recordings of Gosnell’s voice:
The film boasts seasoned documentary-makers David Altrogge (writer/director), Jennifer Brown (producer) and Michael J. Hartnett (cinematographer). In 2013, the team made headlines for a short film about the Gosnell case, also entitled 3801 Lancaster. Besides being featured on CNN, Fox News, and the BBC, the film won Best Short Film at the Justice Film Festival.
The filmmakers planned to release the documentary last year, until they learned that Gosnell was open to interviews with them.
“The reason he did it is he believes he’s innocent, and he wanted to tell his part of the story,” director Altrogge told The Blaze.
Gosnell invited the filmmakers to speak with him under one condition.
"If you are able to consider that my particular circumstances are exemplary of a larger and more important issue, you will have my full attention and cooperation....Sincerely, Kermit Barron Gosnell,” he wrote in a letter.
The filmmakers called the interviews a “revelation” on the film’s website. Between February and September of 2015, they spoke with Gosnell about his childhood, medical school, the trial -- and even the reported "snippings" of babies born alive.
A separate project, the makers of the Gosnell movie, a scripted drama based on Gosnell’s trial and the grand jury report, endorsed the trailer for Lancaster 3801 on Facebook.
Also upcoming, the Gosnell movie filming began Monday, Sept. 21.
