Photo credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times
Visionary filmmaker Ava DuVernay is turning her lens on the criminal justice system once more in an upcoming Netflix miniseries about the well-known Central Park Five case.
As the writer and director, DuVernay will tell the real-life story of the five young men of color who were wrongfully convicted of sexually assaulting a woman in Central Park in 1989. Despite lack of evidence, each of the five New York City teens served between six and thirteen years in prison before Matias Reyes came forward and confessed as the sole rapist in 2002. DNA evidence confirmed his confession.
Photo credit: D Dipasupil; Pictured left to right: Korey Wise, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, and Yusef Salaam
This is will be DuVernay's second time working with the Global streaming giant, Netflix. The first, was for her Oscar-nominated documentary, "13th", which explored the connection between slavery and mass incarceration.
"I had an extraordinary experience working with Netflix on '13th' and am overjoyed to continue this exploration of the criminal justice system as a narrative project with Cindy Holland and the team there," said DuVernay.
"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."
DuVernay will tell the story of Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, Yusef Salaam, Antron McCray and Korey Wise in five installments which will range from the time period of 1989-2014. The limited drams series is set to debut on Netflix in 2019.
Last month, three of the Central Park Five received honorary diplomas from Bronx Preparatory High School.
"Great respect to our dear brothers Raymond, Kevin, Korey, Antron and Yusef for allowing me the honor of telling their stories," wrote DuVernay in an Instagram post.