A late addition to the 2023 Sundance Film Festival lineup will be Doug Liman’s documentary debut, Justice, which dives into the 2018 hearings and government investigation into now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Amy Herdy (On the Record, The Hunting Ground) produced the doc, with Story Syndicate’s Liz Garbus and Dan Cogan executive producing.
“We always have something up our sleeve,” said Sundance head programmer Kim Yutani, when announcing the feature, which she said will inspire a lot of conversation.
“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,” said Liman 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.”
Liman added: “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.”
In 2018, then President Donald Trump nominated Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Christine Blasey Ford, a former classmate of Kavanaugh’s, publicly accused him of attempted rape at a 1982 high school party. Two other accusers came forward, and the FBI carried out a brief investigation into the claims and declared there was no corroborating evidence for the claims, though the investigation was decried by Democrats as being truncated.
Last year, Sundance announced a late addition documentary Navalny about Vladimir Putin foil and Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The film, which is currently short-listed for the best documentary Academy Award, was later acquired by CNN and HBO Max.
CAA is handling the sale. Justice will have its world premiere Friday, Jan. 20, in Park City. See the project details provided by Sundance below.
SPECIAL SCREENING
Justice / U.S.A. (Director: Doug Liman, Producer: Amy Herdy, Executive Producers: Liz Garbus, Dan Cogan) — Exploring the epic battle to confirm Brett Kavanaugh. World Premiere. Documentary.