Advance screening of "The Central Park Five," a film by Ken Burns

The National Press Club presents an advance screening of the award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns’ latest project, The Central Park Five, on April 11 at 6:45 pm.

The film, which premieres April 16 at 9:00 p.m. on PBS, tells the story of five Black and Hispanic Harlem teenagers wrongly convicted of raping a white woman in New York City’s Central Park in 1989.

Co-Directors/Producers Burns, David McMahon and Sarah Burns and two of the Central Park 5 will be in attendance for A questions and answers session after the film.

The brutal sexual assault of a white jogger in the late 1980s sparked a media frenzy and public demand for justice that led to the conviction of the five black and Latino teenagers, despite DNA evidence that excluded them and no eyewitness accounts tying them to the crime. A serial rapist later admitted to the crime, but not before the so-called Central Park Five served sentences of between six and 13 years.

The Central Park Five is an anatomy of wrongful conviction. Through interviews with the Central Park Five, former New York mayors Ed Koch and David Dinkins and journalists who covered the event, the film documents how the forces of the police, the press, and popular prejudice conspired to undermine the rights of five young men—and condemned them to years in prison for a crime they did not commit.

Doors open at 6:30 pm and the documentary will begin at 6:45 pm followed by questions and answers with the filmmakers. Tickets are free for NPC member and $5 for non-members.

For more information about The Central Park Five film and to watch the trailer click here.

The Press Club is located on the 13th floor, 529 14th Street, NW, Washington, D.C.