Crime + Punishment
Hulu Acquires Documentary ‘Crime + Punishment’
June 19, 2018
Hulu announced the acquisition of whistleblower documentary Crime + Punishment.
The streaming service will partner with IFC Films to release the documentary simultaneously in theaters and on Hulu Aug. 24th. The deal also expands Hulu’s relationship with IFC Films, which includes an output agreement for non-documentary, narrative films.
After debuting at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, the film went on to win the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Social Impact Filmmaking. It also won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2018 Independent Film Festival in Boston. Stephen Maing directed, produced and filmed, and Academy Award Winner Laura Poitras serves as an executive producer.
Crime + Punishment goes behind the scenes and undercover to expose discriminatory policing practices, intimidation and corruption within the New York Police Department. Told from multiple perspectives and precincts throughout New York City, the film chronicles the actions of a band of minority whistleblower officers known as The NYPD 12, as well as the efforts of ex-cop turned private investigator Manuel Gomez as they seek to expose the illegal use of arrest and summons quotas. The NYPD 12 find themselves weathering harassment and retaliation from within their own departments.
“It was an act of bravery and defiance by all the cops and families who allowed their stories to be documented over the past four years so I’m heartened to know their efforts will not be in vain and this story made widely accessible,” Maing said in a statement. “It’s exciting to have Hulu’s amazing partnership and share this film theatrically, pursue an ambitious social impact campaign and present these previously unheard voices of active duty officers into the national dialogue around police reform. I am grateful for the collaborations and support I’ve received along the way, but most importantly to the brave participants of the film who have stepped forward for the sake of other citizens and officers.”
The film is the latest to join Hulu’s documentary slate, which includes the recently-released Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie and March of the Penguins 2: The Next Step, as well as Grammy and Emmy Award winning film The Beatles: 8 Days a Week — The Touring Years, Too Funny to Fail, Obey Giant, Becoming Bond, Dumb, and Batman and Bill.