Educational Media Reviews Online

Deah Barakat.
Yusor Abu-Salha.
Razan Abu-Salha.

36 Seconds: Portrait of a Hate Crime examines the February 10, 2015 murders of these three young people. Deah and Yusor were newly married and living and attending dental school in Chapel Hill NC. Razan was Yusor’s younger sister and was visiting Deah and Yusor at the time of the murders.

From the very beginning of the film, we know who was killed and who the killer is. But there is a lot more to this story. 36 Seconds is an exploration of who gets to CONTROL a story; how is narrative constructed? Why are some people given the benefit of the doubt over others? How do you push back against and correct a false narrative?

Deah, Yusor and Razan are introduced to the viewer through pictures, videos and interviews with family and friends. They were happy and successful Muslim Americans, with strong and supportive community ties. Deah and Yusor rented a condo in Durham County NC; the unit had a Chapel Hill address. There were a mixture of owners and renters at the complex and each unit had assigned parking spaces. Additional parking spaces were designated for guests.

Craig Hicks was Deah and Yusor’s neighbor, a white man who owned his unit. On February 10, 2015, Craig walked to Deah and Yusor’s condo, knocked on the door, and complained that someone was using his assigned parking space. Deah denied it. Craig then shot and killed Deah, Yusor, and Razan. After the shootings, he got in his car, drove a short distance to Chatham County NC and turned himself in at the sheriff’s office. Footage from the Chatham County Sheriff’s office shows Hicks confessing; he readily admits to killing all three people and gives his account of what happened and why he killed them. Hicks’ parking dispute narrative is quickly taken at face value and after being pushed by the Chapel Hill police department, it became the dominant story of the motive for the murders.

Family and friends of the victims were devastated and clearly saw the murders as Islamophobic hate crimes; Hicks had a history of harassing and intimidating Deah, Yusor, and Razan. Attempts by the families to push back against the parking dispute narrative failed so the remainder of the film is devoted to documenting their years long struggle to uncover and publicize the truth about the motive for the killings.

36 Seconds proficiently shows how the investigation proceeds. Footage from the sheriff’s office and during the trial are used to great effect; the second half of the film becomes almost unbearably tense as the final piece of the evidentiary puzzle is locked into place. Small portions of the film are moved along using re-enactments; the re-enactments were a bit jarring until I got used to them as a plot device. Dr. Suzanne Barakat (Deah’s sister) is a revelation as a grief-ridden sibling; her controlled fury leaps off the screen as she recounts how law enforcement initially let Hicks drive the narrative of the murders and during her testimony in court during the trial. Even though this is a documentary, the soundtrack and polished look of the film give it a big budget Hollywood police procedural feel.

I remember reading about this crime after it happened and the prevailing narrative at the time was definitely that three people were murdered over a parking dispute. It’s 10 years later and I still remembered the story that way until I reviewed this film. 36 Seconds: Portrait of a Hate Crime is a powerful rejection of that narrative and shows how hard it can be and how long it can take to reclaim the truth.

Awards:
Swedish Academy of Motion Picture Awards, Best Documentary Film; DOC NYC, Subject Matter Award; Dubai International Cine Carnival, 2024 Award Winner; Arab Film Festival, Documentary Award; Worldfest Houston International Film Festival, Documentary Award; CAAMFEST, AARP Audience Award, Documentary Feature Winner

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