A new documentary on the life, death and legacy of Marquette alum and journalist James Foley will premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival before airing on HBO Feb. 6.
“Jim: The James Foley Story” will compete in the film festival’s U.S. Documentary Competition later this month. The festival runs Jan. 21-31.
Foley graduated from Marquette in 1996 and worked as a freelance war correspondent when he was abducted in Syria in 2012 and beheaded by ISIS in 2014. The documentary is the directorial debut of Brian Oakes, Foley’s childhood friend, and tells the journalist’s story through interviews with family, friends, colleagues and fellow hostages. Foley grew up in Rochester, New Hampshire.
According to the Sundance website, “‘Jim’ takes us from small-town New England to the adrenaline-fueled front lines of Libya and Syria, where Foley pushed the limits of danger to report on the plight of civilians impacted by war.”
HBO acquired the rights to the documentary from Kunhardt films. “Jim: The James Foley Story” marks the 10th collaboration between HBO and the production company following “Nixon by Nixon: In His Own Words” and “Teddy: In His Own Words.”
