Ava DuVernay Making Netflix Limited Series About Central Park Five
Oscar-nominated director Ava DuVernay is next pointing her camera at one of the most gripping stories of injustice in history: the Central Park Five.
After earning an Academy Award nomination for the documentary "13th," DuVernay is reteaming with Netflix for a five-episode scripted series that tells the story of the wrongly convicted Central Park Five.
If you're unfamiliar with the case, in 1989, a jogger was raped in Central Park in New York City. Five young teenage men (four black and one Latino) were charged with the crime and spent years in prison. At the time, Donald Trump paid for full-page newspaper ads calling for them to be executed. Later, they were exonerated and sued the city for $41 million.
In a statement, DuVernay said of the project, "The story of the men known as Central Park Five has riveted me for more than two decades. In their journey, we witness five innocent young men of color who were met with injustice at every turn – from coerced confessions to unjust incarceration to public calls for their execution by the man who would go on to be the President of the United States."