A new documentary about the explosive sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh will debut at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Veteran feature director Doug Liman is directing, marking his documentary debut.
“It’s a film that focuses on the allegations against Brett Kavanaugh and the investigation that ensued,” said Sundance director of programing Kim Yutani.
Amy Herdy is producing the project, with Story Syndicate’s Liz Garbus and Dan Cogan as executive producers. A cut was prepared exclusively for Sundance and the project is still seeking distribution. CAA is handling the sale.
Justice Kavanaugh was nominated to the Supreme Court by former President Donald Trump in 2018. In the subsequent months of his vetting process, multiple women came forward and accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault, including Christine Blasey Ford.
Ford would come to deliver a memorable and harrowing testimony about the alleged assault before a Senate judiciary committee, an event that would also provide unforgettable images of a furious and blistering Kavanaugh defending his innocence. The senate voted 50–48 to confirm him later in 2018. In 2019, the New York Times released an investigative report which furthered accounts from another Kavanaugh accuser, Deborah Ramirez. While she did not testify before the judiciary committee, she previously stated that Kavanugh assaulted her when both were undergrads at Yale.
“It shouldn’t be this hard to have an open and honest conversation about whether or not a Justice on the Supreme Court assaulted numerous women as a young man,” Liman said in a statement. “Thanks to this fantastic investigative team and the brave souls who trusted us with their stories, ‘Justice’ picks up where the FBI investigation into Brett Kavanaugh fell woefully short. The film examines our judicial process and the institutions behind it, highlighting bureaucratic missteps and political powergrabs that continue to have an outsized impact on our nation today. Sundance gave me and countless other independent filmmakers our big breaks, so it’s especially meaningful for me to return with my first documentary.”
Liman announced last spring that he would explore another nonfiction topic, traveling to Ukraine to document the country’s ongoing war with Russia. His narrative credits include “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” “American Made,” “Edge of Tomorrow,” “The Bourne Identity” and “Swingers.”