The fact that Poncet and Lestrade disagree about Peterson’s guilt is reflective of the polarized atmosphere of the piece the knowing glances they share when something notably outrageous is committed by the Peterson prosecution is probably more of a tipoff than we need about the sentiments of this or any other “Staircase. Lestrade is a character here (played by Vincent Vermignon), as is his producer Denis Poncet (Frank Feys), which emphasizes that “The Staircase” has always been a story about the telling of stories-to a jury, to the press, to ourselves, to each other. Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, who had won the Best Documentary Oscar for 2001’s “Murder on a Sunday Morning,” was intrigued by the idea of following another dubious case of Southern American jurisprudence and started filming his original “Staircase” before Peterson’s 2003 trial in North Carolina even had begun. ‘Why Ships Crash’ Review: Stuck in the Suez Canal May 17, 2022.‘The Found Footage Phenomenon’ Review: Reality Reconsidered May 17, 2022.
