[14] The website Film School Rejects place the film in third place in their 30 Best Films of the Decade list. With Kurt Kuenne, Andrew Bagby, David Bagby, Kathleen Bagby. The next issue of Posted Newsletter will soon be in your inbox. From the start, Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father is a one-of-a-kind documentary. Filmmaker Kurt Kuenne, Andrew's oldest friend, began making a film for little Zachary as a way for him to get to know the father he'd never meet. How did this loon become a fucking doctor? The bill, which helps protect children in relation to bail hearings and custody disputes, was signed into law. This true story never needed to happen. Dear Zachary was submitted to the Toronto International Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival, but was rejected by both. He had been shot in the head, face, chest and twice in the buttocks. “It’s a very personal thing, murder. Zachary’s mother, Newfoundland native Dr. Shirley Turner, had taken the toddler in her arms and jumped into the Atlantic Ocean. The arrangement ended in tragedy when, on August 18, 2003, Turner jumped into the Atlantic Ocean with thirteen-month-old Zachary in a murder–suicide. Turner and Bagby had met while attending medical school at Memorial University in St. John’s, Nfld., but Bagby had recently broken off the relationship. For months, the couple had to play nice with Turner in order to visit their grandson. This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father. Join the mailing list to receive daily email updates. Statement from the Filmmaker. What happened next, no one ever could have foreseen… From the start, Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father is a one-of-a-kind documentary. © 2021 National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. But when Shirley Turner was released on bail in Canada and was given custody of Zachary while awaiting extradition to the U.S., the film's focus shifted to Zachary's grandparents, David & Kathleen Bagby, and their desperate efforts to win custody of the boy from the woman they knew had murdered their son. One of the Best Films of 2008 Dear Zachary: a letter to a song about his father ... Kate and Dave to "Zachary's beach," as his grandparents fondly call the stretch of ocean in Conception Bay South where Zachary's lifeless body washed ashore last August. The Society of Professional Journalists presented it with its Sigma Delta Chi Award for Best Television Documentary (Network), it received the Special Jury and Audience Awards at the Cinequest Film Festival, it was named an Audience Favorite at Hot Docs, it received the Audience Awards at the St. Louis International Film Festival and the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival, it was named Best Documentary at the Orlando Film Festival and was awarded with the jury award for best international documentary at Docville (Belgium). Filmmaker Kurt Kuenne, Andrew's oldest friend, began making a film for little Zachary as a way for him to get to know the father he'd never meet. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father Independent Filmmaker Kurt Kuenne's poignant tribute to his murdered childhood friend, Andrew Bagby, tells the story of a child custody battle between the baby's grieving grandparents and Shirley Turner, Bagby's pregnant ex-girlfriend and suspected killer. It goes to a grief too deep for crying,” Kate Bagby testified. [2], Dear Zachary premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in 2008, and received a limited theatrical release before being acquired for distribution by MSNBC. Dear Zachary - 10th Anniversary Edition 1 video | Buy $14.99 On November 5, 2001, Dr. Andrew Bagby was murdered in a parking lot in western Pennsylvania; the prime suspect, his ex-girlfriend Dr. Shirley Turner, promptly fled the United States for St. John's, Canada, where she announced that she was pregnant with Andrew's child. Filmmaker Kurt Kuenne, Andrew s oldest friend began making a film for little Zachary as a way for him to get to know the father he d never meet. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father is a 2008 American documentary film written, produced, edited and directed by Kurt Kuenne. Kuenne has stated that Dear Zachary began as a project only to be shown to friends and family of Andrew Bagby. The film is about Kuenne's close friend Andrew Bagby, who was murdered after Bagby ended a relationship with a woman named Shirley Jane Turner. This documentary is riveting. We had to push it as far as we could,” he said. That Dr. Shirley Turner was an absolutely terrifying sociopath. This includes his and the grandparents activism to change the bail law in Canada. Dear Zachary: A Letter from a Father to His Son. ‘Are you kidding? Kuenne is donating all profits from the film to a scholarship established in the names of Andrew and Zachary Bagby.[3]. Turner was therefore released on bail and successfully sued for joint custody of Zachary with the Bagbys, although their arrangement was tenuous. [22] Seven years after Zachary's death, and over two years after the film was released, "Zachary's Bill" was signed into law. Dear Zachary A Letter to A Son About His Father (DVD) : Filmmaker Kurt Kuenne begins making a film for Zachary, son of his oldest friend who was murdered by Zachary's mother. Grandparents Kate and David Bagby actually moved to Newfoundland to file for custody of Zachary. “And the symbolism of that pisses me off again.”. Further, “there is no indication of a psychological disorder that would give concern about potential harm to the public generally.” She also cited the fundamental right to be presumed innocent. That Dr. Shirley Turner was an absolutely terrifying sociopath. [9] The goal of Zachary's Bill was to protect children and force "judicial decision makers" to keep the safety of children in mind during bail hearings and in custody disputes, particularly when a child is in the custody of someone who has been charged with a "serious crime". Addendum, December 16, 2010: Bill C-464 became law in Canada yesterday, amending Canada's bail code with a clause giving courts the power to refuse bail to someone charged with a serious crime who is a potential danger to children under the age of 18, an amendment which likely could have saved Zachary had it been in place in 2003. 2008 NR 1h 33m DVD Rent this movie. However, as the events unfolded, Kuenne decided to release the film publicly. Dear zachary full movie - Vertrauen Sie dem Gewinner unserer Experten. A panel convened by Newfoundland's Ministry of Justice agreed, releasing a report stating that Zachary's death had been preventable and that the government's handling of Turner's case had been inadequate. [11], Peter Debruge of Variety called the film "a virtuoso feat in editing" and noted, "The way Kuenne presents the material, with an aggressive style that lingers less than a second on most shots, it's impossible not to feel emotionally exhausted. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Dear Zachary: A Letter from a Father to His Son. Shortly after she was arrested as a suspect, Turner announced that she was pregnant with Bagby's child, a boy she named Zachary. Zachary was born. The extradition dragged on. "[10] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100, based on 11 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". ‎Watch trailers, read customer and critic reviews, and buy Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (10th Anniversary Edition) directed by Kurt Kuenne for $14.99. In his spare time, he loved to skimboard, skateboard, and play basketball. Kuenne decided to interview numerous relatives, friends, and associates of Andrew Bagby and incorporate their loving remembrances into a film that would serve as a cinematic scrapbook for the son who never knew him. Even if this law had been in place 10 years ago, would it have made a difference? Dear Zachary. Kuenne's attempts to arrange interviews with the prosecutors and judges who facilitated Turner's freedom were rebuffed. Please try again. After travelling the film-festival circuit — the film was recognized in 2008 as one of the top five documentaries that year by the National Board of Review — Kuenne and the Bagbys turned their attention to Parliament Hill. Entspricht der Dear zachary a letter from your father der Qualitätsstufe, die Sie für diesen Preis haben möchten? During the court proceedings, Dr. Turner was granted bail and Zachary remained in her custody with the grandparents being given supervised visitations. At the time, Turner was fighting extradition to the United States, where she was accused of murdering her ex-boyfriend and the baby’s father, Dr. Andrew Bagby, the Bagbys’ son. “They had a mission. It’s my responsibility.”. Kuenne doesn’t just create a biography of Andrew Bagby’s life. To Kate and David, you are truly amazing parents and grandparents to so many; not just David and Zachary. Tragedy first struck the Bagby family in November 2001. But that idea was quickly discarded as “stupid.”. The memory of their son and grandson are never far. Added to Cart! But when Shirley Turner was released on bail in Canada and was given custody of Zachary while awaiting extradition to the U.S., the film's focus shifted to Zachary's grandparents, David & Kathleen Bagby, and their desperate efforts to win custody of the boy from the woman they knew had murdered their son. 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