Acclaimed Filmmaker Marina Zenovich Discusses Her New Film, Fantastic Lies, and How the Duke Lacrosse Events Changed College Sports


Fantastic Lies takes viewers back to the night of March 13, 2006, when Duke University lacrosse players threw a team party that ended up changing lives, ruining careers, tarnishing a university’s reputation and even jeopardizing the future of the sport at the school. The film, from Emmy Award-winning® director Marina Zenovich (Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired), premieres on the 10th anniversary of the party that ignited what became a national firestorm and resulted in a highly charged legal investigation. Usually confined to the sports section, lacrosse suddenly appeared on the front pages of newspapers because of the lurid details of the case and the hot buttons that it pushed: sex, race, class, violence.


Director Marina Zenovich is available to discuss the strange events that took place including the hiding of DNA evidence, an unfair trial process, and media reporting on rumors and inaccuracies. She can reveal what she learned after interviewing many of the key figures in the incident and trial, and discuss how the scandal forever changed the landscape of college sports.