Fantastic Lies 

A documentary examination of the accusations of sexual misconduct against the Duke University lacrosse team that were ultimately found to be baseless

Director:

Marina Zenovich

Stars:

Joe Alleva, Bradley Bannon, Bill Bell

3 nominations.

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Joe Alleva	...	Himself
Bradley Bannon	...	Himself
Bill Bell	...	Himself
Richard H. Brodhead	...	Himself
Jackie Brown	...	Herself
Delois Burnette	...	Herself
William Chafe	...	Himself
Joe Cheshire	...	Himself
James E. Coleman	...	Himself
Jim Coman	...	Himself
Jim Cooney	...	Himself
Roy Cooper	...	Himself
Shawn Cunningham	...	Himself
Tricia Dowd	...	Herself
Dave Evans	...	Himself

Storyline

A documentary examination of the accusations of sexual misconduct against the Duke University lacrosse team that were ultimately found to be baseless

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Taglines:

In 2006, there was judgment before justice.

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | History | Sport

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Details

Official Sites:

Company Website

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 March 2016 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

ESPN Films, Lightbox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Unknown: This wasn't the story to back your particular issue.

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Connections

Features SportsCenter (1979)

User Reviews

An Excellent In-depth Examination of a Controversial Event

I had the opportunity to see the World Premiere of Fantastic Lies at Austin's SXSW Film Festival last night. It was very well-received. It will premiere tonight – for the 10th anniversary - on ESPN's 30 for 30 series although it is a film that goes well beyond issues of sports. The documentary is a very even-handed attempt to examine the tragedy of the Duke Lacrosse rape case. The tragedy appears to be that 3 young men had their lives nearly ruined by a false allegation of a rape that never happened. The rape accusation was exploited by an ambitious prosecutor and various other forces looking to address existing – and very real concerns – about class and race in Durham, NC. The film explores the evidence and talks to many of those close to the case such as the parents of some of the accused lacrosse players. It presents a thorough examination of the ugly events and political shenanigans around them. While some questions remain unanswered – and perhaps are unanswerable – the film fits in well with so many other documentaries of innocent people accused of crimes they didn't commit. In that sense, it fits in with the many documentaries made about the West Memphis Three, Cameron Willingham, Michael Morton and so many other cases where ambitious prosecutors have gotten ahead of their evidence.

The problem that bothered me is that it never really addressed the larger issues of the epidemic of campus sexual assault raised by the recent documentary, The Hunting Ground, and many other reports. This case seems to be an exceptional one when it comes to campus sexual assault where the politics led to a false accusation whereas the more common problem seems to be institutions that cover and protect sexual predators. It felt like that larger issue was left unaddressed. Still, the film is certainly recommended for those looking to understand a disturbing sequence of events at an elite university.