OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network announced that it has acquired Yoav Potash’s documentary “Crime After Crime.” Crime After Crime screened at 2011 Sundance Film Festival in U.S. Documentary Competition category.
In 1983, Deborah Peagler, a woman brutally abused by her boyfriend, was sentenced to 25 years-to-life for her connection to his murder. Twenty years later, as she languished in prison, a California law allowing incarcerated domestic-violence survivors to reopen their cases was passed. Enter a pair of rookie land-use attorneys convinced that with the incontrovertible evidence that existed, they could free Deborah in a matter of months. What they didn’t know was the depth of corruption and politically driven resistance they’d encounter, sending them down a nightmarish, bureaucratic rabbit hole of injustice.
The outrageous twists and turns in this consummately crafted saga are enough to keep us on the edge of our seats. Meanwhile, the spirit, fortitude, and love all three characters marshal in the face of this wrenching marathon is nothing short of miraculous. We fall in love with the remarkable triumvirate as they battle a warped criminal-justice system and test whether it’s beyond repair. | Sundance Film Festival
“We knew the moment we saw Yoav’s film it was a perfect fit for us. It is a deeply moving story about a woman in prison and her unexpected relationship with two young lawyers who spend years of their lives trying to set her free,” said Ms. Erspamer.
“Throughout the five and a half years of making ‘Crime After Crime,’ hundreds of people said to me, ‘Oprah has to see this, it would be perfect for her!’ And this was before OWN even existed, so now with the network and the Documentary Club, it is an even more perfect match than anyone could have imagined,” said director Yoav Potash.
“Crime After Crime“ is the exclusive documentary film on the legal battle to free Debbie Peagler, a woman imprisoned for over a quarter century due to her connection to the murder of the man who abused her. She finds her only hope for freedom when two rookie attorneys with no background in criminal law step forward to take her case.
The acquisition comes on the heels of the world premiere of “Becoming Chaz” at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and Lisa Erspamer, chief creative officer, OWN’s earlier announcement of Rosie O’Donnell as a collaborator for the OWN Documentary Film Club.
The slate of previously announced original documentaries that comprise the OWN Documentary Film Club include “Extraordinary Moms,” “Serving Life,” “Seven Suicides” and “Tent City, USA.” Acquired documentaries include “65 Red Roses,” “Becoming Chaz,” “Family Affair,” “Life 2.0,” “Louder than a Bomb,” “Most Valuable Players,” “No Woman, No Cry,” “One Lucky Elephant” and “Sons of Perdition.”
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