A still from the Netflix show When They See Us.The trailer for director Ava DuVernay’s series When They See Us is out and it looks every bit compelling as one had hoped it would be. Based on the true case of Central Park Five where five teenagers of colour were charged with a rape they didn’t commit, the show will attempt to throw light on the unfortunate incident and the series of trials leading up to their exoneration.
In the nearly three-minute trailer, we see the characters of the five labelled persons putting up a fight to save themselves from a sentence. Later, a character says, “I don’t think we should admit to something that we didn’t do.”
The filmmaker had also shared the trailer of the show on her social media handles with the caption, “On this exact day 30 years ago, a woman was raped in Central Park. Five black + brown boys were framed for her rape. The story you know is the lie that police, prosecutors and Donald Trump told you. WHEN THEY SEE US is the story of the boys from their eyes and their hearts. May 31 on @Netflix.”
Watch the trailer of When They See Us here:
DuVernay is not the first filmmaker to bring the incident to life on screen. Earlier, a documentary film called The Central Park Five had been made on the subject by Sarah Burns and her husband David McMahon in 2012. The movie was premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and had received mixed reviews from critics. While Burns’ film was a docu-drama, DuVernay has tried to revive the painful and problematic case by giving it a dramatic angle.
When They See Us will start streaming on Netflix from May 31.
