The National Press Club to Host Advance Screening of "The Central Park Five" A Film by Ken Burns

News provided by

Apr 05, 2013, 04:15 ET

April 11 at 6:30 pm

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- 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.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080917/NPCLOGO)

Co-Directors/Producers Burns, Sarah Burns and two of the Central Park 5 will be in attendance for a questions and answers session and book signing after the film screening.

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.

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. Registration is required. Tickets can be reserved online by clicking here.

For more information about The Central Park 5 film and to watch the trailer click here.

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

About the National Press Club

The National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists with more than 3,300 members worldwide representing every major news organization. More than 250,000 people visit the Club each year to attend more than 2,000 events. The Club was founded in 1908 and is on the web at press.org.

SOURCE National Press Club