Directed by
Jean-Xavier de Lestrade
Produced by
Denis Poncet
Director of Photography
Isabelle Razavet
Additional Images
Pierre Milon, Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, Patrice Moreau, Deavid Hardy, Kyle Laningham
Sound
Yves Grasso and Graciela Barrault
Editing
Jean-Pierre Bloc, Sophie Brunet and Scott Stevenson
Music
Jocelyn Pook
First aired on Canal +, October 2004
Aired in 28 countries (UK/BBC, Germany/Spiegel TV, Canada, Switzerland/TSR, Danemark/ Dr TV, Belgium/RTBF, Netherlands/VPRO, Sweden/SVT, Israel, Brazil, Australia…)
- Academy Award-winning documentary 2005. (International Documentary Association - Los Angeles)
- DuPont Award 2005 (Columbia University- New-York)
- Peabody Award 2005
The Staircase
A 8x45 minutes documentary in partnership with Canal + (France) and ABC (USA)
Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, presents a gripping courtroom thriller, offering a rare and revealing inside look at a high-profile murder trial. In 2001, author Michael Peterson was arraigned for the murder of his wife Kathleen, whose body was discovered lying in a pool of blood on the stairway of their home. Granted unusual access to Peterson's lawyers, home and immediate family, de Lestrade's cameras capture the defense team as it considers its strategic options. "The staircase" is an engrossing look at contemporary American justice that features more twists than a legal bestseller.


