DOC NYC to close with “Central Park Five”

August 2, 2012 by Adam Benzine

The Central Park Five

Ken Burns collaboration The Central Park Five (pictured) is to continue its festival run by closing New York-based film festival DOC NYC in November.

The doc tells the story of five black and Latino teenagers who were convicted of raping a jogger in New York’s Central Park, only to have their sentences vacated more than a decade later when another man came forward admitting to the crime.

The third annual DOC NYC will take place from November 8-15, and the screening of Park Five – which is co-directed by Burns with his daughter Sarah Burns and director David McMahon – will come after the film’s North American premiere at TIFF in September, and its world premiere in Cannes earlier this year.

“We’re honored to premiere such a compelling and resonant New York story for our closing night,” said DOC NYC artistic director Thom Powers, who also programs docs for TIFF.

“In this new film, Ken Burns and his collaborators craft a galvanizing account of an event that transfixed the city and the nation, and the injustice that followed in its wake.”

In addition, DOC NYC is expanding its ‘Doc-a-thon’ line-up of panel discussions covering the art and business of documentary filmmaking. Spanning five days, the program features some 20 seminars and panels with filmmakers and experts devoted to different stages in the filmmaking process.

The line-up will explore financing sources, marketing, distribution and legal issues in documentary, and also includes masterclasses with leading directors, editors, animators, composers and other key creative figures. It will feature representatives from A&E IndieFilms, Abramorama, Argot Pictures, Cinereach, HBO Documentary Films, IFC Films, Impact Partners, Kino Lorber, New Video, POV and Zeitgeist Films.

DOC NYC has also added two key members to its team: Mystelle Brabbée has joined as senior programmer for feature-length documentaries, and Basil Tsiokos has come on board as programmer of shorts and ‘Doc-a-thon’ panels.

The festival will unveil its opening night film; Viewfinders and Metropolis competition titles; and other sections in the weeks ahead.

Check out the trailer for The Central Park Five below: