The historic case of The Central Park Five will be brought to life in a new dramatic limited series for Netflix created by Ava DuVernay, who will also write and direct. The narrative, five-episode series will be executive produced by Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King from Participant Media, Oprah Winfrey/Harpo Films, Jane Rosenthal and Berry Welsh from Tribeca Productions, and DuVernay.
“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.”
“This is one of the most talked-about cases of our time and Ava’s passionate vision and masterful direction will bring the human stories behind the headlines to life in this series,” said Cindy Holland, VP, Original Content for Netflix. “After powerfully reframing the public conversation about criminality and injustice in 13TH, Ava now turns a new lens to a case that exposes deep flaws in our criminal justice system.”
Participant Media’s Jonathan King added, “It’s an honor to be partnering again with Ava, a uniquely tenacious and inspiring artist. The events of this shocking story continue to resonate today, and the way Ava has chosen to focus intimately on the five young men foregrounds the human costs of this kind of tragedy. We are looking forward to working with Netflix, Tribeca and Harpo on Participant’s first scripted episodic series.”
Based on the true story that gripped New York and the world, the scripted series exposes the breakdown of our criminal justice system at every phase of the notorious Central Park Five case. Each part will focus on one of the five teenagers from Harlem–Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise–wrongly convicted of raping Trisha Meili in Central Park. The series will span from the spring of 1989, when each were first questioned about the incident, to 2014 when they were exonerated and a settlement was reached with the city of New York.
Los Films Signs Director Tobias Nathan
Filmmaker Tobias Nathan has signed with Los Films, the production division of the multidisciplinary creative studio Los York, for U.S. representation spanning commercials, branded content and music videos.
Nathan’s directing work is characterized by a journalistic sense of solid storytelling combined with visual sophistication. Prior to joining Los Films, he had most recently been repped by production company JOJX.
Nathan studied journalism and creative writing at Boston University and subsequently fell into a career as a creative director at New York City ad agencies. On-set he often found himself “breathing heavily over director’s shoulders” and in short order he pivoted to the director’s chair. He has directed campaigns for Virgin, Apple Music, Samsung, Infiniti, Vodafone, Nespresso, Grey Goose, Remy Martin, Cadillac and KIA, among others.
“Tobias is an ambidextrous creative. He can write with one arm and direct with the other,” said Chris Abitbol, head of Los Films. “Seriously, Tobias has worked as a creative and as a film director, telling brand stories with real panache and vision. He’s a true ‘Global Nomad of the Arts,’ and now he’s part of our exciting next phase. Welcome, brother.”
“I’m excited to join Los York because it feels like it’s a family that really focuses on what matters--craft, quality, and doing good work the right way with people you love,” said Nathan. “Chris, Seth Epstein [Los York founder] and their entire team are looking toward the future at this bizarre time in our industry and figuring out how to lead it. For my part, I plan to create innately human work for Los Films clients; work that moves people, whether with a smirk or a wink or a laugh or a cry, work with... Read More