Barry Avrich’s art scandal documentary “Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art” is being adapted into a feature film by the director’s Melbar Entertainment Group (“David Foster: Off The Record”).
The documentary tells the story of how one of the most respected art galleries in New York City became the center of the largest art fraud in American history. Knoedler & Company, under its president, Ann Freedman, made millions selling previously unseen works by Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell, and others that had supposedly come from a secret collection. But when her prestigious clients discovered they had purchased fakes, the scandal rocked the art world. Avrich secured unprecedented access to Freedman, her clients and other key players for the documentary.
The film has played Hot Docs and the Hamptons International Film Festival and will feature at the upcoming DOC NYC in November. Fremantle is handling international sales.
The feature will be executive produced by Avrich and “Made You Look” executive producer Jay Hennick in partnership with a consortium of investors. Production is slated to begin in early 2022.
“The extraordinary story beautifully lends itself to a dramatic feature film and its characters are beyond priceless. I can only dream that Meryl Streep will want to play Ann Freedman,” said Canadian director Avrich.
Established in 1998 by Avrich, Melbar Entertainment Group is a leading producer of non-scripted content in North America, having produced more than 50 titles including “The Last Mogul,” “Prosecuting Evil,” “Blurred Lines” and “The Reckoning.”
Melbar’s documentaries include “David Foster: Off The Record,” which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2019, as well as “Reversal of Fortune: The Unraveling of Turkey’s Democracy” and “Howie Mandel: Enough About Me.”
Melbar also produces the Scotiabank Giller Prize television show and is currently in production on the film “Capturing Mr. Rosenberg.” He previously produced the Canadian Screen Awards.