The Projectionist

Since 1953, Chicago's Silverlight Cinema stored film reels that accidentally captured decades of corruption: a police chief meeting a drug dealer (1968), backroom police deals (1979), and a councilman taking bribes (1983). In 1986, manager Howard Morris—whose brother James was on the land-approval board—killed projectionist Frank Lucas to destroy a reel showing Howard with a developer. Frank had duplicated and hidden the evidence. Years later, projectionist Nora Winter discovered clues, teamed with Frank's daughter Margaret, and found the original reel proving Howard's assault. She handed evidence to police; Howard was convicted of murder (25 years). Nora continued, retrieving the 1968 reel and 1996 footage of James negotiating a bribe, leading to James's 14-year sentence. She now archives unprocessed reels, frame by frame, uncovering buried truths.