Legacies Examined on the Big Screen
November 12, 2014 at 6:49 pm Ryan Jones 1 comment
Two very different cinematic responses to the Sandusky Scandal will premiere this weekend at the State Theatre in downtown State College.
Friday night sees the debut of Happy Valley, a documentary from director Amir Bar-Lev billed as “the story behind the Penn State scandal.” Best known for his films My Kid Could Paint That and The Tillman Story, Bar-Lev filmed in and around State College for a year following Jerry Sandusky’s arrest; the end result is an attempt to explore the scandal’s aftermath, and the climate that allowed it to happen in the first place. Sue ’62, Jay ’91 and Scott Paterno ’97, ’00g were all interviewed and feature prominently in the film, which will be available through iTunes, Amazon Instant, Google Play and other digital platforms on Nov. 21.
The People’s Joe debuts Saturday evening, and as the title implies, its focus is the life and legacy of Joe Paterno. It’s the third post-scandal documentary from the State College-based Porterfield Group, which also produced The Joe We Know and 365 Days: A Year in Happy Valley. The film traces Paterno’s life from his Brooklyn childhood to his decades at Penn State through archival footage and interviews with former players, fans, and friends. DVDs of the film are available to purchase at peoplesjoe.com.
Ryan Jones, senior editor
Entry filed under: Uncategorized. Tags: Amir Bar-Lev, Happy Valley, Porterfield Group, State Theatre, The People's Joe.
1. Liz Bligan | November 13, 2014 at 11:13 am
The “Penn State scandal.” This will never end, will it? It’s the Jerry Sandusky scandal. The Second Mile scandal. The PA child’s welfare scandal. It is NOT the Penn State scandal. But thanks to the media and the BOT in place in November 2011, that is still how it is perceived, despite all the evidence showing that Penn State and all its staff are innocent.