New Documentary Series Will Explore Woody Allen Abuse Allegations
It is one of the most contentious and controversial scandals in Hollywood history: The allegations of sexual abuse against filmmaker Woody Allen by his then-seven-year-old adopted daughter Dylan Farrow, and its subsequent impact on the relationship between Allen and his longtime girlfriend and leading lady, Mia Farrow. Allen has denied the allegations for decades and was not charged with a crime, but they resurfaced in recent years after Dylan Farrow discussed them interviews. Now, they will be explored in even greater detail in a new four-part documentary series on HBO titled Allen v. Farrow.
The news was announced in an article in The New York Times, which also includes an interview with its directors, Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering. They have spent the last several years making a series of documentaries about systemic sexual abuse; last year, they directed On the Record, about abuse allegations against music mogul Russell Simmons, for HBO Max. According to a press release, Allen v. Farrow features “exclusive, in-depth interviews on the subject with Mia Farrow, Dylan Farrow, Ronan Farrow, family friend Carly Simon, prosecutor Frank Maco, relatives, investigators, experts and other first-hand eyewitnesses.” (Woody Allen did not participate in the series.)
Ziering told the Times the goal of the documentary is “about all of us understanding these crimes, understanding the way we are all complicit to these crimes and I do mean all of us, both wittingly and unwittingly.” They also released the trailer for the series:
Here’s Allen v. Farrow’s official synopsis:
Allen v. Farrow, from award-winning investigative filmmakers Kirby Dick & Amy Ziering and Amy Herdy, is a four-part documentary series that goes behind decades of sensational headlines to reveal the private story of one of Hollywood’s most notorious and public scandals: the accusation of sexual abuse against Woody Allen involving Dylan, his then seven-year-old daughter with Mia Farrow; their subsequent custody trial, the revelation of Allen’s relationship with Farrow’s daughter, Soon-Yi; and the controversial aftermath in the years that followed. Once celebrated for their on and off-screen partnership, Farrow and Allen’s lives were irrevocably fractured and their sprawling family torn apart with the public disclosure of the abuse allegations and the vitriolic disputes that followed.
Allen v. Farrow premieres on HBO on Sunday, February 21 at 9PM.
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