MINESHAFT: THE CRUISING MURDERS

description

The untold story of the controversy surrounding the making of William Friedkin’s 1980 thriller, CRUISING, the fierce protests around its production, and the real life murders that inspired the film.

MINESHAFT: THE CRUISING MURDERS peels back the layers of controversy surrounding the making of CRUISING, which triggered fierce protests from the LGBTQ+ community for its portrayal of a serial killer targeting gay men in New York's leather bars. Friedkin drew inspiration from the brutal murder of Variety reporter Addison Verrill, blurring the boundaries between cinematic fiction and real-life tragedy, and MINESHAFT director Jeffrey Schwarz (VITO, I AM DIVINE, TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL etc) brings his own signature piercing deep dive flair to unearth a thrilling "commercial" story and a political relevance rarely seen in combination today.

OFFICIAL SELECTION
Tribeca Festival 2026

DIRECTOR'S BIO
Jeffrey Schwarz is an Emmy Award-winning producer, director and editor based in Los Angeles. Prior to MINESHAFT, his latest feature documentary is COMMITMENT TO LIFE, which chronicles the city of Los Angeles’ response to the HIV/AIDS crisis. Previous work includes BOULEVARD! A HOLLYWOOD STORY, THE FABULOUS ALLAN CARR, TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL, I AM DIVINE, WRANGLER: ANATOMY OF AN ICON, SPINE TINGLER! THE WILLIAM CASTLE STORY, and the Emmy Award-winning HBO Documentary Films’ VITO. Schwarz has also been a producer of Blu-ray and DVD features, profiling the work of directors such as Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Jonathan Demme, John Waters, Wes Craven, Rob Reiner, Paul Verhoeven, and the Coen Brothers. Schwarz was the recipient of the 2015 Frameline Award, which honors those who have made a major contribution to LGBTQ+ representation in film, television, and the media arts.