A documentary about a notorious Queens murder is ready for the big screen after more than a decade. And as NY1's Shannan Ferry explains, the film was screened just steps away from where it all took place.
It seems like just about everyone knows Bill Genovese in Kew Gardens.
Coming to the neighborhood is comforting for him now, but in 1964 it was a different story.
"It was high anxiety. It was like, 'Oh my God, am I gonna be able to face this?'" Genovese recalled.
He was dealing with the murder of his 28-year-old sister, Kitty Genovese, who was raped and stabbed to death near her Kew Gardens home.
It made national headlines after newspapers reported 38 eyewitnesses in nearby apartments did nothing as Kitty screamed for help.
"And I thought, 'Really? 38 eyewitnesses? How could that be in over 30 minutes?'" Bill Genovese said.
Those reports were later discredited, but Genovese, a Vietnam War veteran, was determined to uncover the truth himself.
The film, "The Witness," follows his 11-year journey investigating what happened that night and retracing his sister's final steps.
The documentary aired at Kew Gardens Cinemas on Friday, just across the street from where Kitty was killed.
"There were some eyewitnesses, but it wasn't that massive amount of 38 eyewitnesses doing nothing," he said. "She wasn't this icon of death and horrible murder; she was a living person like all of us are."
Genovese hopes the film also gives viewers an understanding of who Kitty Genovese actually was and why her friends and family adored her so much.
"She drove a red Fiat convertible, she managed a bar. She comes alive in this film. It's the revelation that this person was actually someone we all wish we knew," said James Solomon, the director of "The Witness."
And by turning the lens on Kitty's murder, Bill Genovese says he has found closure.
The film is playing in New York, and is scheduled to begin airing nationwide June 17.