WEDNESDAY 2 SEPTEMBER
DEAD MAN’S WIRE
Director: Gus Van Sant
2026| R16 | 1 hour 45 mins | USA | English
Doors open at 6:30pm.
Screening starts at 7pm sharp.
On February 8, 1977, an ordinary business appointment in Indianapolis became one of the most extraordinary hostage situations in American history.
Tony Kiritsis walked into the office of mortgage company president Richard Hall carrying a sawed-off shotgun, but this was no ordinary weapon. Wired from the trigger to Tony’s own neck, the “dead man’s wire” meant that any attempt to intervene could result in the gun firing. What followed was a tense three-day standoff that captivated the nation and turned Tony Kiritsis into a controversial public figure.
Dead Man’s Wire follows Tony’s desperate campaign against the powerful mortgage company he believed had cheated him out of money from a property deal. Holding Richard Hall hostage, Tony demanded justice, an apology, and the chance to tell his story — turning the crisis into a media spectacle as police, journalists and the public watched every move unfold.
Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting, Milk, Elephant) and starring Bill Skarsgård as Tony Kiritsis, alongside Cary Elwes, Colman Domingo, Al Pacino and an impressive ensemble cast, the film explores the blurred lines between victim and perpetrator, desperation and obsession, and the way a single act can capture the imagination of an entire country.
Beyond the hostage drama, Dead Man’s Wire examines the people caught in the middle — the hostage, the captor, the police, the media and a public fascinated by a man who saw himself as fighting against injustice.
A gripping true-crime thriller about a bizarre moment in history, Dead Man’s Wire asks difficult questions about power, grievance and the lengths one person will go to be heard.
Producers: Cassian Elwes, Joel David Moore
Music: Danny Elfman
Cinematography: Arnaud Potier
Cast: Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, Cary Elwes, Myha'la, Colman Domingo, Al Pacino