HBO Max takes Attica riot doc

Betrayal at Attica focuses on the riot in which 39 prison inmates were shot

HBO Max in the US will stream a documentary about the 1971 riot at Attica Prison ahead of the uprising’s 50th anniversary later this year.

Betrayal at Attica (1×60′) claims to reveal the true story behind one of the worst prison riots in US history, when the State of New York shot and killed 39 of its own unarmed citizens, injured hundreds more and tortured the survivors.

It tells the story of the riot and its aftermath from the perspective of radical lawyer Elizabeth Fink, revealing evidence of pre-meditated murder that has been covered up by the State for 50 years.

HBO Max has acquired streaming rights to the film in the US ahead of the 50th anniversary of the riots in September.

Rocket Rights, the new UK distributor from David and Matthew Frank that was unveiled in January, is handling worldwide TV sales outside the US. Its sister company Booster is managing VoD exploitation.

Rocket Rights said the film provides further context for the racial tensions which dominate US society and politics today.