Tower

First Hand Accounts of the University of Texas' 1966 Shooting

August 1st 1966 was the day our innocence was shattered. A sniper rode the elevator to the top floor of the iconic University of Texas Tower and opened fire, holding the campus hostage for 96 minutes in what was a previously unimaginable event.

TOWER combines archival footage with rotoscopic animation of the dramatic day, based entirely on first person testimonies from witnesses, heroes and survivors, in a seamless and suspenseful retelling of the unfolding tragedy. The film highlights the fear, confusion, and visceral realities that changed the lives of those present, and the rest of us, forever - a day when the worst in one man brought out the best in so many others.

Winner, Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature at the SXSW Film Festival

New York Times Critics' Pick - "Ingenious. The animation gives Mr. Maitland a lot of creative freedom, allowing him to take Expressionistic leaps." -Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

"Boldly imaginative ... 'TOWER' plays like a historical Hitchcock film about ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances. [A] true-crime thriller that's enriched by a rare depth of inner experience. The effect is as much intellectual as emotional." -Richard Brody, The New Yorker