CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS

FRIDAY 24 OCTOBER AT 8PM UGC HAYMARKET SCREEN 1

TO BOOK TICKETS FOR THE OPENING NIGHT GALA AND PARTY CALL 020 7287 3833

Country USA Running Time 107 mins Format Beta Dir Andrew Jarecki Prods Andrew Jarecki, Marc Smerling Featuring Arnold Friedman, Elaine Friedman, David Friedman, Seth Friedman, Jesse Friedman, Howard Friedman Print Source Tartan Films E cbarwick@metro-tartan.co.uk

Raindance opens with the deserved winner of the 2003 Sundance Grand Jury Prize for documentaries.

In 1987, Great Neck, Long Island, a comfortable upper middle class town, was rocked when Arnold Friedman, a respected high school teacher and his 18-year old son, Jessie, were arrested on charges of molestation, rape, and sodomy against young boys to whom they taught computer classes in their basement. Capturing the Friedmans is a dark and disturbing look at the Friedman family that compels us to sift through the ambiguous evidence and determine for ourselves the question of their guilt or innocence.

While dissecting the inner workings of the family, made even more powerful by the actual home video footage of the family in the midst of the hurricane, Jarecki looks into the nature of memory to such an extent that Capturing the Friedmans is an assault on our expectation of truth. The desire for clarity is never fulfilled and you can only leave tantalized, still seeking the missing piece to the puzzle.

Capturing the Friedmans is not an easy film to watch. It is, however, a disturbing, thought-provoking and groundbreaking piece of documentary that leaves you with many more questions than answers. OH

Andrew Jarecki was the founder and CEO of MovieFone, the company that made film schedules and theatre information available over the telephone. After selling to AOL in 1999, Jarecki decided to become a filmmaker himself. This is his debut feature.