In the new documentary They Called Him Mostly Harmless, filmmaker Patricia E. Gillespie chronicles the mystery surrounding the identity of a John Doe found dead in the swamplands of Florida and the legion of dedicated true crime fans who make it their mission to solve the case.
After a buzzy sneak peek at the Florida Film Festival, the film had its world premiere at the Hamptons International Film Festival. Other notable festival appearances include Miami GEMS and the documentary was also one of eight films selected for the inaugural Jackson Hole Film Festival.
Release Date
Directed by Emmy® winner Gillespie, They Called Him Mostly Harmless debuts Thursday, February 8 on Max.
Synopsis
When an unidentified hiker is found deceased in the Florida wilderness, authorities release a sketch. Multiple hikers call in claiming to have met the man. There’s only one problem – he never told them his name. It would take two years, thousands of devoted internet sleuths, and a miracle of science to identify him, and that’s when the trouble really starts. A character-centric reimagining of a classic true crime genre, They Called Him Mostly Harmless is about finding yourself when you’re looking for someone else.
Patricia E. Gillespie, director, said “I was drawn to this story because of its potential to help us think more deeply about what it means to live in the digital age. I hope we’ve made a film that manages to both honor the citizen detectives who worked tirelessly to identify Mostly Harmless, while encouraging audiences to get involved in the issue of unidentified persons.?
Official Trailer
Watch the official trailer for They Called Him Mostly Harmless.