News crews from around the world flocked to Imperial Avenue on Cleveland鈥檚 east side in 2009 as the bodies of 11 women were removed from the home of Anthony Sowell. Local filmmaker Laura Paglin was drawn to the scene as well, starting a seven-year journey to tell the story of the serial killer鈥檚 crimes.
is not a biography of Sowell.
鈥淓arly on, I did decide I鈥檓 not interested in doing 鈥楾he Mind of a Serial Killer鈥欌��, she said. 鈥淚 knew I wanted to do something about the victims.鈥�
But, she soon realized that it would be hard to recreate the lives of the murdered victims. Most of the families didn鈥檛 have many photos of the women, because they were part of a pre-digital era.
鈥淪o, I decided to focus more on the victims who escaped, to kind of have them speak for the dead,鈥� she said.
鈥淯nseen鈥� took over six years to complete. Paglin said that鈥檚 not unusual for documentaries.
鈥淚 probably did about 40 interviews,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 used maybe 12, altogether. It took a couple years even just to edit it. It鈥檚 a very complex story.鈥�
鈥淯nseen鈥� debuted at the . More recently, it鈥檚 aired on , and it鈥檚 now streaming in the U.S. Paglin says she has mixed feelings about the impact of modern technology on the way audiences view her movies. She prefers the theatrical experience.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really the most satisfying way to watch a film, just to be able to see the audience respond,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut unfortunately, it鈥檚 not really sustainable these days. It鈥檚 a good thing that we have streaming available. It鈥檚 opened up many channels for films that couldn鈥檛 be seen otherwise.鈥�
"Unseen" gets a special screening . Here's a preview:
from on .
