Berlin

110 min. | USA | 2021

In 2017, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania had one of the highest incarceration rates of any major city in the United States. And it’s become the epicenter of a historic experiment that could shape the future of prosecution in America for decades to come. When civil rights attorney Larry Krasner mounted a long shot campaign to become District Attorney, he ran on a bold pledge: to end mass incarceration by changing the culture of the criminal justice system from within. He shocked the establishment by winning in a landslide.

Now, the bureaucrats he spent his campaign denigrating are his co-workers; the police he alienated are his rank-and-file law enforcers. Pressure comes from all sides of a system resistant to reform. Krasner’s unapologetic promise to use the power of the D.A.’s office for sweeping change is what got him elected; now that he’s in office, that same stubbornness threatens to alienate those he needs to work with the most. From the eye of this political storm, filmmakers Ted Passon, Yoni Brook, and Nicole Salazar gained unprecedented access into Krasner’s office and behind the scenes of the criminal justice system. Over the course of eight episodes, PHILLY D.A. explores the most pressing social issues of our time—police brutality, the opioid crisis, gun violence, and mass incarceration—through the lens of an idealistic team attempting fundamental overhaul from within the system.

After World Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival to much acclaim, the first two episodes of the 8-part docuseries PHILLY D.A. will have their International Premiere at Berlin International Film Festival 2021 in the Berlinale Series section.

PHILLY D.A. is a production of the Department of Motion Pictures and All Ages Productions, and is a co-production of Independent Television Service (ITVS) with funding provided by Corporation for Public Broadcasting in association with PBS and Topic Studios. Ana Vicente from Dogwoof (ana@dogwoof.com) is handling International Sales on behalf of the series.