MINESHAFT: THE CRUISING MURDERS

USA | 2026 | COLOR | DCP | 85’ | ENGLISH

Few films have encountered greater controversy (if not outright disdain) than William Friedkin's "Cruising". Very few people also are aware of the gruesome murder that inspired it, which was linked to a series of crimes that terrorized the gay community and New York's nightlife in the 1970s. Jeffrey Schwartz's riveting film ("I Am Divine") initially weaves together the fragments of a ghastly true crime puzzle, but gradually evolves into something more complex: on one hand, a portrait of a hedonistic and liberal world that was soon to be decimated by the onslaught of AIDS. On the other, a calm assessment of a film that many felt demonized an entire community at a time when the latter was fiercely fighting for its rights and visibility. Finally, thanks to an invaluable archival material and revealing testimonies from people who lived through the events, it becomes a documentary of a significant historical and cultural memory for a (tragically) lost generation and era. Loukas Katsikas

DIRECTOR: Jeffrey Schwarz
DoP: Brian Wengrofsky, Jesse Dana
MUSIC: Makeup and Vanity Set
EDITORS: Jeffrey Schwarz

JEFFREY SCHWARZ

American Emmy Award-winning film producer, director, and editor, born in 1969. Graduate of the SUNY Purchase Film Department. He is known for an extensive and recognized body of documentary work.

FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTED)
2026 Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders
2023 Commitment to Life
2021 Boulevard! A Hollywood Story
2017 The Fabulous Allan Carr
2015 Tab Hunter Confidential
2013 I Am Divine
2011 Vito
2008 Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon
2007 Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story