When a Witness Recants (2026)

JustWatch

In 1983, author Ta-Nehisi Coates learned that a 14-year-old boy was murdered in his Baltimore middle school. Upon revisiting the case, he uncovers the truth: Three innocent teenagers were wrongfully convicted and spent 36 years in prison — creating a lasting impact on the accused, the witnesses, and their community.

Transcript

00:05Hi, I'm Dawn Porter, I'm the director of When a Witness Recants.

00:11This film is one of the hardest that I've ever made,

00:17but also one of the most gratifying.

00:19It's the story of three young men who were incarcerated as teenagers

00:25and believed they were betrayed by their best friend.

00:30The film is based on an article by reporter Jennifer Gonnerman.

00:34She wrote this article for The New Yorker magazine,

00:38and Ta-Nehisi Coates and his wife read the article,

00:41and he remembered a particular memory from his childhood.

00:47I've made a number of social justice projects.

00:50This one's really special.

00:52So thrilled to be back at Sundance with film number four.

00:55I hope you'll come join us for When a Witness Recants.

01:00For example.

01:00They're so privileged.

01:04I'm pretty sure he'll see all of us.

01:08So I can't wait to see the original ones and let me know.

01:08I'm pretty sure there's all of us.

01:09But we're very lucky.

01:10We're so glad, and we're so glad that we haven't been able to do.

01:10We're so glad that we're all there.

01:13We're so glad that we did.

01:13We're so glad that we're able to get into it.

01:14You

Category

Transcript

Comments

Recommended