Synopsis

Winner of both the Directors and Filmmakers Trophy awards at the Sundance Film Festival, "Licensed to Kill" goes behind the media headlines of recent high-profile anti-gay murders to investigate their causes. Attacked by gay bashers in 1977, filmmaker Arthur Dong probes the hearts and minds of murderers convicted of killing gay men he faces them in one-on-one cell block interviews and asks them directly: "Why did you do it?" Probing on-camera interviews with seven convicted killers behind bars propel the narrative drive of "Licensed To Kill." These inmates include a wide range of distinct profiles: a young man who claims he justifiably killed as protection from his victim's sexual advances - a defense known as "homosexual panic"; a self-loathing, religious gay man who killed because of his own homosexual tendencies; a victim of child abuse who feared losing his manhood; an army sergeant angry over the gays in the military debate; and a self-described homeboy looking for easy prey.

Winner of both the Directors and Filmmakers Trophy awards at the Sundance Film Festival, "Licensed to Kill" goes behind the media headlines of recent high-profile anti-gay murders to investigate their causes. Attacked by gay bashers in 1977, filmmaker Arthur Dong probes the hearts and minds of murderers convicted of killing gay men he faces them in one-on-one cell block interviews and asks them directly: "Why did you do it?" Probing on-camera interviews with seven convicted killers behind bars propel the narrative drive of "Licensed To Kill." These inmates include a wide range of distinct profiles: a young man who claims he justifiably killed as protection from his victim's sexual advances - a defense known as "homosexual panic"; a self-loathing, religious gay man who killed because of his own homosexual tendencies; a victim of child abuse who feared losing his manhood; an army sergeant angry over the gays in the military debate; and a self-described homeboy looking for easy prey.