WITCH HUNT Documentary Competition

Dana Nachman and Don Hardy’s documentary film, narrated and executive produced by Sean Penn and featuring music from Pearl Jam, chronicles the unraveling of a small town’s justice system. The subjects, working -class moms and dads , all were wrongly convicted of child molestation in the early 1980s in Bakersfield, Calif, where the Kern County District Attorney-who remains in office today recklessly pursued charge s A true crime drama, but with the authorities perpetrating the crimes, this is a heart-wrenching story of wrongful prosecution, an unbalanced justice system, coercion and, at the some time, perseverance and hope for an end to this type of injustice The film uncovers the story of nine citizens, all of whom served unwarranted prison time (between six and 20 years) in some of California’s roughest prisons, leaving severe emotional and psycho logical scars. Miraculously, after lengthy court battles and the uncovering of evidence withheld from the initial trials, each person was finally exonerated. However, they have yet to receive what they also deserve: an apology from those who wrongfully convicted them.