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2nd Chance
Opens on December 9
Director: Ramin Bahrani Run Time: 89 min. Release Year: 2022
In 1969 a bankrupt pizzeria owner, Richard Davis, invented the modern-day bullet proof vest. To prove that it worked, he shot himself — point blank — 192 times. He launched Second Chance, which became the largest body armor company in the world, saving over 3,000 lives. Charming and brash, Davis also directed over eight hours of cult marketing films, both violent and humorous, and became a celebrity figure among police and gun owners across the country. But when a police officer dies wearing a Second Chance vest, Davis's friend and employee becomes a government whistleblower in a case against the company. This exploration of Davis' rise and fall reveals a man of contradictions, decades of reckless lies and threats and the nature of power and impunity in America.
Iranian-American writer and director (and Winston-Salem raised) Ramin Bahrani's feature films include: Man Push Cart (2005), Chop Shop (2007), Goodbye Solo (2009), 99 Homes (2014), Fahrenheit 451 (2018), The White Tiger (2021). They have won awards and acclaim all over the world, from Venice to Cannes to the U.S. In 2010, film critic Roger Ebert hailed him as "the director of the decade." Bahrani is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Someone to Watch Independent Spirit Award in 2008. His films have won numerous awards: Goodbye Solo won the Critics' Prize for best film at the Venice Film Festival (2009), and 99 Homes won Michael Shannon SAG and Golden Globe nominations in 2015. The White Tiger was nominated for a Best Adapted Screenplay at the 93rd Academy Awards.
"2nd Chance" may be the best Errol Morris movie that Errol Morris never made." ~ Owen Gleiberman, Variety
"Through startlingly candid interviews, wild archival footage, and a keen visual sense, Bahrani shows how Davis's invention changed the world, and what the true lasting effects of that change have been." ~ Alissa Wilkinson, Vox
Indie, Documentary