TIME | The Kalief Browder Story
6-Part Docuseries | Spike TV | 2017
TIME: The Kalief Browder Story is a six-part documentary series that delves into the harrowing experience of Kalief Browder, a 16-year-old from the Bronx who spent three years on Rikers Island without a conviction, much of it in solitary confinement. The Cinemart initiated the project, collaborating with executive producer Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter to bring national attention to the systemic failures of the criminal justice system. The series garnered over 40 million viewers on Spike TV.
The documentary was recognized with a Peabody Award for its evocative and revelatory exposé, highlighting the human toll of a broken system. It was also nominated for Best Limited Series by the International Documentary Association and was an official selection at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
CREDITs
Julia Willoughby Nason: Creator, Executive Producer, Art Direction, Cinematographer
Michael Gasparro: Executive Producer
The Cinemart: Pre-Production, Production, and Post-Production
AWARDS
Featured Press
“The filmmakers clearly don’t want Browder’s short life to have been in vain, nor dismiss Rikers reform as a pipe dream. Just the opposite: Like any good prosecutor, they present their case, leaving no room for doubt...This particularly well-produced film insists that even in death, Kalief Browder can still change a broken system — and must.”
“The Kalief Browder story is an informative and emotionally charged 6-part documentary that does a great job of informing about the life of this wrongly convicted 16-year-old.”
“TIME is an important contribution to the true-crime documentary genre, one that sheds light on a whole host of issues.”
“TIME is a brave moment of truth-telling that rips the band-aid of fiction off contemporary television retellings of corruption, injustice, and systemic racism in this country.”