FALSE CONFESSIONS follows four cases of defense attorney Jane Fisher-Byrialsen—including that of Korey Wise who was only sixteen when he was manipulated into a false confession in the infamous Central Park Jogger case—as she fights to put an end to an institutionalized injustice. Examining the complex tactics law enforcement agencies across the U.S. use to coerce false confessions, the film looks at the psychological aspect of how people end up confessing to crimes they have not committed as well as the consequences of these confessions – for those accused, for their families and for society.
On the heels of the difficult and critically important national conversation sparked by Ava Duvernay's miniseries about The Central Park Five, FALSE CONFESSIONS is an urgent in-depth look at the dark side of the American justice system that goes even further into investigating the social, racial and legal issues at stake.
"A legal thriller from start to finish, FALSE CONFESSIONS shines a critical light on the dirty tactics that defy reason and betray our nation's moral compass and path to real justice. Is the police force here to serve and protect, or to exploit and imprison?" Shaheen Sayani LA Film Festival
"FALSE CONFESSIONS is shedding new light on the highly questionable, little-debated dark underbelly of the American justice system." Zurich Film Festival
"This important new documentary will help to spread understanding of the very real phenomenon of false confessions and help us to understand why they happen and what we can do about them." Making a Murderer Attorney Dean Strang
"Captivating, haunting. A devastating emotional journey." Criterion Cast
"This documentary is necessary. It's important that we as a people understand where, why, and how our freedom can be ripped from underneath us." Film Snob Reviews
Citation
Main credits
Philip, Katrine (film director)
Philip, Katrine (film producer)
Sahlstrøm, Katrine A. (film producer)
Fisher-Byrialsen, Jane (on-screen participant)
Other credits
Cinematography, Adam Morris Philp, Talib Rasmussen; editing, Signe Kaufmann, Rasmus Stensgaard Madsen; music, Jonas Colstrup.
Racism,Prison System,Injustice,Innocent,Abuse of Power,Jane Fisher-Byrialsen,; "False Confessions",Central Park Jogger,defense attorney,injustice,institutional injustice,Ava Duvernay,Central Park Five,justice system,law enforcement; Women Make Movies
Distributor: Women Make Movies
Length: 91 minutes
Date: 2019
Genre: Expository
Language: English / English subtitles
Grade: College, Adults
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
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