Justice is a 2023 documentary film about American Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The film was directed by Doug Liman. [1] [2] The film recounts the sexual assault allegations made against Kavanaugh, including the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez. It debuted on January 20, 2023 to a sold-out screening at the Sundance Film Festival. [3]
It features a never-before-heard audio recording made by Partnership for Public Service president and CEO Max Stier, a Yale colleague of Kavanaugh's, that corroborates Ramirez's charges and suggests that Kavanaugh violated another unnamed woman. Stier relays that he witnessed Kavanaugh with his pants down with a group of rowdy soccer players forcing a drunk female freshman to hold Kavanaugh's penis. Stier goes on to explain that he had heard from classmates about Ramirez's similar encounter with Kavanaugh, which she personally describes in the film. [4]
The documentary also highlights the narratives Kavanaugh advanced to sway public opinion and gain support of Republicans. It suggests that Kavanaugh and his team were aware of Ford and Ramirez's charges before they became public and preemptively countered them by planting alternate narratives with friends and acquaintances. [5] [6]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 71% based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10. [7]
Douglas Eric Liman is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing the films Swingers (1996), Go (1999), The Bourne Identity (2002), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Jumper (2008), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), and American Made (2017).
Kirby Bryan Dick is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best known for directing documentary films. He received Academy Award nominations for Best Documentary Feature for directing Twist of Faith (2005) and The Invisible War (2012). He has also received numerous awards from film festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival and Los Angeles Film Festival.
Brett Michael Kavanaugh is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since October 6, 2018. He was previously a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and worked as a staff lawyer for various offices of the federal government of the United States.
The Invisible War is a 2012 American documentary film written and directed by Kirby Dick and produced by Amy Ziering and Tanner King Barklow about sexual assault in the United States military. It premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the U.S. Documentary Audience Award. The film has been lauded by advocates, lawmakers, and journalists for its influence on government policies to reduce the prevalence of rape in the armed forces.
Amy Ziering is an American film producer and director. Mostly known for her work in documentary films, she is a regular collaborator of director Kirby Dick; they co-directed 2002's Derrida and 2020's On the Record, with Ziering also producing several of Dick's films.
We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks is a 2013 American independent documentary film about the organization established by Julian Assange, and people involved in the collection and distribution of secret information and media by whistleblowers. Directed by Alex Gibney, it covers a period of several decades, and includes background material. Gibney received his fifth nomination for Best Documentary Screenplay from the Writers Guild of America Awards for this film.
Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart is a 2014 American documentary film directed by Jeremiah Zagar. The film premiered in competition in the category of U.S. Documentary Competition program at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 2014.
An Open Secret is a 2014 American documentary film directed by Amy J. Berg exposing child sexual abuse in the film industry in California.
Whose Streets? is a 2017 American documentary film about the killing of Michael Brown and the Ferguson uprising. Directed by Sabaah Folayan and co-directed by Damon Davis, Whose Streets? premiered in competition at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, then was released theatrically in August, 2017, for the anniversary of Brown's death. It was a nominee for Critics' Choice and Gotham Independent Film awards.
On July 9, 2018, President Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States to succeed retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. When nominated, Kavanaugh was a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, a position he was appointed to in 2006 by President George W. Bush.
Christine Margaret Blasey Ford is an American professor of psychology at Palo Alto University and a research psychologist at the Stanford University School of Medicine. She specializes in designing statistical models for research projects. During her academic career, Ford has worked as a professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine Collaborative Clinical Psychology Program.
"A Scary Time" is a 2018 feminist protest song and viral video written and performed by Lynzy Lab. It is based on the comment by former United States President Donald Trump that "it's a very scary time for young men in America", which he said amid the sexual assault allegations against his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The song contains a list of situations in which men have harassed, coerced, or sexually assaulted women in the U.S. The list also includes some of the past responses from the American public, media, and legal system to women who have accused men of such acts.
Untouchable is a 2019 British documentary film about film producer Harvey Weinstein and the sexual abuse allegations that involve him. It was directed by Ursula Macfarlane.
On the Record is a 2020 American documentary film directed by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering. It centers on allegations of sexual abuse and harassment against hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons. Executive producer Oprah Winfrey publicly withdrew from the film shortly before it was released, citing "creative differences", severing a production deal with Apple TV+. The film premiered at Sundance on January 25, 2020, and was acquired by HBO Max, which released it digitally on May 27, 2020.
Anita: Speaking Truth to Power is an 2013 American documentary film, written, directed, and produced by Freida Mock. It follows Anita Hill, a lawyer who testified against Clarence Thomas's Supreme Court nomination, exposing the problem of sexual harassment around the world.
Navalny is a 2022 American documentary film directed by Daniel Roher. The film revolves around Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and events related to his poisoning. It was produced by HBO Max and CNN Films. The film premiered on January 25, 2022 at the Sundance Film Festival, where it received critical and audience acclaim and won the Audience Award in the US Documentary competition and the Festival Favorite Award. It also won the Best Documentary Feature at the 95th Academy Awards, won the award for Best Political Documentary at the 7th Critics' Choice Documentary Awards and picked up best documentary at the 76th BAFTA awards ceremony.
We Need to Talk About Cosby is an American documentary miniseries directed and produced by W. Kamau Bell. It explores the life and career of Bill Cosby up to his sexual assault cases. It premiered on January 30, 2022, on Showtime.
Aftershock is an 2022 American documentary film, directed and produced by Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee. It follows Omari Maynard and Bruce McIntyre, whose partners died due to childbirth complications, which were preventable, as they fight for justice.
Phoenix Rising is an American documentary miniseries directed and produced by Amy J. Berg. It follows Evan Rachel Wood as she tells her story of alleged domestic violence and her campaign for justice. It aired on March 15–16, 2022, on HBO.
Plan C is a 2023 American documentary film produced and directed by Tracy Droz Tragos. The film centers around ongoing grassroots efforts to provide access to abortion across the United States through the distribution of abortion pills in the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.