Learn More. Sponsored link. Directed by Stanley Nelson. Admittedly, one of the major features of religions is that they bring a goal into people’s lives. Peoples Temple defectors, among them Deborah Layton and Grace and Tim Stoen, told their stories to the American media, detailing the armed work camp and threats of mass suicide. Background of the Peoples Temple: This was a Christian destructive, doomsday cult founded and led by James Warren Jones (1931-1978). The People's Temple, led by James Warren (Jim) Jones. With Rebecca Moore, Janet Shular, Tim Carter, Stanley Clayton. With Brendan Michael O'Malley, Yaret Lora, Jess Matney, Christian Echegoyen. Jim Jones held degrees from Indiana University and Butler University. The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement established by the Peoples Temple, a cult under the leadership of Jim Jones, in Guayana Esequiba, a disputed territory in northwestern Guyana claimed by Venezuela.. Why did Jim Jones, a charismatic American preacher and leader of the People's Temple, compel his members in 1978 to perform 'revolutionary suicide' in northern Guyana? Jonestown: Paradise Lost is a 2007 documentary television film on the History Channel about the final days of Jonestown, the Peoples Temple, and Jim Jones.From eyewitness and survivor accounts, the program recreates the last week before the mass murder-suicide on November 18, 1978. A Storyville documentary. He was not a Fundamentalist pastor as many reports in the media and the anti-cult movement claim. We will write a custom Case Study on “Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple” Documentary specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page. 301 certified writers online. He belonged to … Peoples Temple helped elect George Moscone in 1975 and in return, the new mayor appointed Jones to the city’s Housing Authority Commission. Featuring never-before-seen footage, this documentary delivers a startling new look at the Peoples Temple, headed by preacher Jim Jones who, in 1978, led more than 900 members to Guyana, where he orchestrated a mass suicide via tainted punch. Directed by Felix Tonio Stintzing.