In 1983, a 14-year-old boy was murdered in a Baltimore middle school, and the following investigation led to the wrongful conviction of the Harlem Park Three: teenagers Alfred Chestnut, Andrew Stewart and Ransom Watkins. Three years ago, the now-men were finally released after spending 36 years in prison. Their full story will finally be told at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival with the premiere of “When A Witness Recants,” directed by documentarian Dawn Porter along with executive producer and author Ta-Nehisi Coates. “When I read The New Yorker article and Ta-Nehisi Coates read The New Yorker article, I think we both were struck by the fact that justice for these young men took so long,” Porter said. “If you combine the three men’s (36-year) sentences, it’s the longest wrongful conviction in American history.” And even though the incident happened in the ’80s, Porter said it’s still a sadly-relevant tale. Throughout Porter’s career, she’s directed many projects on social justice issues like the criminal legal system — such as “Gideon’s Army,” which was her 2013 Sundance debut — but she said this story stood out for the severity of harm done to the three boys. So when she decided to pursue the project, Porter said it was important to be considerate of the subjects. “One of the most important things we do as filmmakers is work to gain the trust of the subjects. They have been wronged in so many ways, and so many people have come at them in an extractive way, wanting something from them,” she said.  Porter and Coates met with Chestnut, Stewart and Watkins before ever picking up a camera, and the three men came with a challenge. “They said, ‘We want you to tell this whole story without any sanitizing. Can you do that for us?’” Porter recalled. “They felt like they never had a real voice, and so they were hoping that we could add the truth and have more people understand the depth and breadth of what happened to them.”  It was an emotional call, but also added extra pressure, Porter admitted with a laugh.  “I was like, ‘I cannot disappoint them. They have been so tortured for so many years,’” she said. “So we took that super seriously. We went back through all the records. We wanted everything to be really buttoned up and truthful and not exaggerated.” When researching, Porter said one of the challenges was the lack of materials. Because the three were incarcerated at 16, and spend three decades in prison, there weren’t many photos or footage of them during that time. “In all of my films, I really like to prioritize the viewpoint of the subjects. And so how to do that if there’s no footage of them … it kind of makes you be more creative,” Porter said. So they decided to work with a graphic novel artist, who drew pictures of the boys over time. Not only did the images help tell the story, but Porter said it also helps make the film more appealing to younger audiences. Plus, it was inspiring — she now hopes to do a film using all graphic novel visuals in the future. A graphic artist helped show scenes in “When A Witness Recants” where there was a lack of photo or video record. Credit: Still courtesy of Sundance Institute Porter said having Coates on this film project was another huge advantage and lended both a philosophical and a personal lens to the narrative. “Ta-Nehisi is really one of the premier thinkers of our time. He thinks really deeply about race, about society, about justice. But this story was was personal for him because he grew up in Baltimore, and he remembered this case,” she said. “He was both coming at it from a societal lens — what does this say about our society that police could push these teenagers to testify falsely, that police could hide evidence — but also he was a member of the community that wanted some justice, that wanted to feel safe, and so working with him on this, and hearing his thoughts, it really deepened the resonance of the story.” In cases like these, Porter said often the people that are most affected are people in lower-income communities who may be the same race and socioeconomic status of the victims. They want to feel safe, she said, so those communities are also pushing the police to solve the case quickly. “I think he felt some guilt, even though he was a child, and he says it multiple times,” Porter said. “I think he felt kind of complicit in that they all were willing to accept the testimony of these other children, even though the testimony had so many holes in it.” As the title indicates, this case in the ’80s revolved around the false, coerced testimony of another student. But Porter said despite the years of suffering, the Harlem Park Three were willing to forgive the other children involved, an empathic response that surprised her when telling this story. Dawn Porter is the director of “When A Witness Recants,” an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Credit: Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute “They understood how the people who testified against them were also victims of the police,” she said. “I learned something from them. So much was taken from them, and they came to the ultimate meeting with the main witness against them with open hearts. And that was very, very moving to see how they approached the other children who were part of this story.” When the three finally watched the film after it was finished, Porter said it was really emotional. “It’s like they’ve exhaled. It’s like, the truth is out there,” she said. “I think they’re super ready for Sundance, and they are ready to come out and share their stories and talk with people. They don’t want this to happen to anyone else.” The entry into Sundance — the last festival held in Park City — is also extremely meaningful for the director. This will be her fourth time in the festival, and not only is it emotional to see this chapter close, but she said to round out her time in Park City with a film about the criminal legal systems is very meaningful. “I think there’s going to be a lot of tears these coming couple of weeks. We’re excited for Boulder, but there’s just nothing like Robert Redford’s original vision, and it’s meant so much to so many filmmakers,” she said. “So I’m really, really proud and honored that I have a film that’s going to be part of this last festival in Park City.” “When A Witness Recants” will premiere at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 27 at the Library Center Theatre, followed by a Q and A with Porter, Coates and the Harlem Park Three. It is not available for the online festival. For tickets, visit tinyurl.com/3ce99z8y. ‘When A Witness Recants’ in-person screenings  5:30 p.m., Jan. 27, Library Center Theatre 8:15 a.m., Jan. 28, The Ray Theatre 3:00 p.m., Jan. 29, Broadway Centre Cinemas 6, Salt Lake City 9:00 a.m., Jan. 31, Megaplex Redstone 1 7:30 p.m., Feb. 1, Megaplex Redstone 1 The post Sundance premiere ‘When A Witness Recants’ sheds light on flawed criminal justice system appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less