On July 29, the Eastern Region Special Projects Committee’s Documentary Series screened Director Amir Bar-Lev’s Happy Valley at the DGA’s New York Theater.
The film deconstructs the story of the scandal that shook the Penn State University community known as Happy Valley, where Jerry Sandusky, assistant coach of the university's storied football team, was charged with 40 counts of child sex abuse in 2011, sparking outrage and implicating the celebrated head coach, Joe Paterno.
With stories shared by key players over the course of the year after Sandusky’s arrest, Bar-Lev’s Happy Valley uncovers a much more complicated and tragic tale than the story we thought we knew. The film was nominated for the American Independents Audience Award at the 2014 AFI Fest.
Following the screening, Bar-Lev discussed the making and aftermath of Happy Valley in a conversation moderated by Director Kristi Jacobson (A Place at the Table).
Bar-Lev’s films include the documentary features 12-12-12, Re:Generation, My Kid Could Paint That, and Fighter. His 2012 documentary The Tillman Story won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Programming - Long Form. He has been a DGA member since 2012.