HOW does one share a dark secret which for 50 years has remained hidden from family, friends and the wider community? And when murder is at the heart of that confession, why bother to break the silence? The Killer Within, a documentary by Macky Alston, is likely to trigger debate that will continue long after filmgoers leave the theatre. His presentation to the tenth Bermuda International Film Festival (BIFF), is a fascinating voyage into the life of killer Bob Bechtel. Released after five years in a mental asylum, his crime remained a secret for 50 years while he successfully raised a family and worked as a psychology professor at the University of Arizona.

“I think The Killer Within>is a general story about family - how we deal with shadow sides of ourselves and how we deal with our family history,” Mr. Alston said. “What do you do with a guy like Bob? He did get out of the asylum and for 50 years has been a contributing member of society.”

The documentary is one of four special presentations at BIFF and Mr. Alston’s second film in the 2007 line-up. His first feature-length documentary Family Name, was awarded Best Film at BIFF’s inaugural festival in 1997, and will screen alongside other winners from previous events.

UnsurprisinglyI>The Killer Within <$>has a unique premise: “In 1955 while at Swathmore College, (Bob Bechtel) went on a shooting rampage and took the life of fellow student, Holmes Strozier. Although not convicted of murder, he was committed to a hospital for the criminally insane. After five years he was released, and half a century later Bob decided to tell family, friends and colleagues of this disturbing chapter in his life. Filmmaker Alston neatly captures the weird compassion in the situation: the stepdaughter perplexed by her mother who married him knowing his history; the daughter who knows she is on this earth only because Bob was given a second chance; and the wife who loves him but acknowledges that part of him is scary at times.”

Mr. Bechtel’s daughter Carrah was a student in a class taught by the filmmaker. She shared the family secret with him, hoping it would provide sufficient intrigue for him to consider making a documentary with her father as the subject.

“I was teaching a class on documentary filmmaking at Columbia University and Carrah was a student at the time, training to be a prison chaplain,” Mr. Alston said in explaining his introduction to the family. “She said her family had a secret it was thinking to share. She was thinking about how she could make her life into something positive given its dubious origins. I was captivated by so many aspects — here was this perfect American family with a deep secret and I was intrigued by the fidelity and loyalty she felt for her father, although she was horrified by what he had done before she was born.

“If you look at it and say that justice wasn’t done as perhaps it should have been, if he had been given the death penalty and put to death, if you believe in God....Carrah is a smart, lovely person who is indisputably worthy of life and yet if justice were served she wouldn’t have existed. I think it will be interesting to see the next generation grappling with choices of the parents and not necessarily sharing that spirit.”

The Killer Within shows reaction as Mr. Bechtel’s past is made known to family, friends and the University of Arizona campus. His defence that intense bullying drove him to kill Holmes Strozier, is disputed by former classmates at Swarthmore and also by the victim’s brother, John.

“It’s a difficult thing as a filmmaker. You grow attached to the families involved. Of course I spent a great deal of intimate time with the Stroziers and the Bechtels and am fond of them. It doesn’t necessarily mean I don’t have an opinion and concerns, but it does mean I care about their welfare and fate.”

Two significant concerns were the family’s response to the murder and how the public might respond to the documentary’s subject matter, Mr. Alston said. “With Bob, there’s no evidence that he’s emotional, which is deeply disturbing. Does it signify mental illness? A lack of remorse? Some kind of brain shortage? We don’t know. You see three women crying and so evidently moved by the killing of Holmes Strozier, you see the toll it has taken on a whole range of folks — it was a very strange experience to walk through the story and the history with that family.”

He added: “I don’t think I’ve ever made a film that didn’t have a disturbing subject matter at its heart. I grew close to a group of people in each film (I’ve made) and it’s difficult to publicise a story when you know you can’t control the ramifications.R

The Killer Within screens tomorrow at 1 p.m. at the Little Theatre and Tuesday at 9.15 p.m. at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute auditorium. Family N<$>will show at the BUEI auditorium at 9.15 p.m. tomorrow. Film tickets are $12.50 and available online at www.biff.bm, at the festival box office at No. 6 Terminal, Front Street and at the various theatres on the day of screening.