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The Central Park Five

Documentary and Nonfiction Film

The Central Park Five is a 2012 American documentary directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon, examining the wrongful convictions of five Black and Latino teenagers, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise, for the 1989 assault and rape of a jogger in New York's Central Park. The film traces how the five were coerced into confessions during a highly publicized investigation, served years in prison, and were only exonerated in 2002 after convicted serial rapist Matias Reyes confessed to the crime with DNA evidence confirming his account. It situates the case within the racial tensions and media sensationalism of late 1980s New York, and the five men later settled a civil suit against the city for 41 million dollars.

Facts
Classification
Original Language
English 1
Award
Black Film Critics Circle Award for Best Documentary 1
Award
Black Reel Award for Outstanding Documentary 1
Award
Chicago International Film Festival Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary Feature 1
Release Year
2012 1
Country
United States 1
Connections

Created By

Ken Burns, Figures
Source The Central Park Five (film), Wikipedia

In Medium

Film, Media Forms
Source The Central Park Five (film), Wikipedia
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. The Central Park Five (film), Wikipedia
  • Lead sentence
    The Central Park Five is a 2012 documentary film about the Central Park jogger case
  • Release section
    was released in the US on November 23, 2012
  • The Central Park Five, Description, original language
    The Central Park Five is a 2012 American documentary directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon, examining the wrongful convictions of five Black and Latino teenagers, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise, for the 1989 assault and rape of a jogger in New York's Central Park.
  • Wikipedia Awards section (black-film-critics-circle-award-for-best-documentary), checked 2026-09-27
    Black Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Documentary | Sarah Burns, Ken Burns, David McMahon | Won
  • Wikipedia Awards section (black-reel-award-for-outstanding-documentary), checked 2026-09-27
    Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Documentary | Sarah Burns, Ken Burns, David McMahon | Won
  • Wikipedia Awards section (chicago-international-film-festival-audience-choice-award-for-best-documentary-feature), checked 2026-09-27
    Chicago International Film Festival | Audience Choice Award - Best Documentary Feature | Won
  • In Medium: Film, Article lead sentence
    The Central Park Five is a 2012 documentary film about the Central Park jogger case, directed by documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, his daughter Sarah Burns, and her husband David McMahon.
  • Created By: Ken Burns, Article lead sentence
    The Central Park Five is a 2012 documentary film about the Central Park jogger case, directed by documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, his daughter Sarah Burns, and her husband David McMahon.
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