Hot Docs 2008

May, 1989. On a hot, sunny afternoon in Brest, France, a sunbathing woman lies murdered on a crowded beach. She was stabbed to death in broad daylight without any apparent motive and so detective Jean-François Abgrall begins an extraordinary investigation that will lead him to France's most terrifying psychopath. An unstable drifter with a violent past, Francis Heaulmes arouses suspicion but evades arrest. Driven by instinct and a brilliant police mind, however, Abgrall cannot dismiss him. As a string of similarly grizzly murders all leading to Heaulmes is discovered, a chilling cat and mouse game ensues between Abgrall and the highly intelligent madman. Heaulmes taunts the detective with spectacularly detailed hand-drawn maps of murder scenes, then implores his innocence. Yet Abgrall must continue to engage Heaulmes to find the facts. In this gripping policier, Abgrall himself finally shares the astonishing story of how he brought France's most notorious serial killer to justice.
-Myrocia Watamaniuk