The next ‘O.J.: Made in America’? Sundance to preview Lorena Bobbitt series

SALT LAKE CITY — The criminal case that helped spawn the 24-hour TV news cycle is coming to Sundance.

“Lorena,” a four-part documentary series for Amazon, will be previewed at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, it was announced Monday. The series examines the 1993 Lorena and John Wayne Bobbitt case, in which Lorena Bobbitt cut off her husband John’s genitalia.

“When we hear the name ‘Bobbitt’ we think of one of the most sensational incidents to ever be catapulted into a full-blown media spectacle,” Jordan Peele, the series’ executive producer, said in a statement earlier this year. “With this project, Lorena has a platform to tell her truth as well as engage in a critical conversation about gender dynamics, abuse, and her demand for justice. This is Lorena’s story and we’re honored to help her tell it.”

During the trial, Lorena Bobbitt claimed her husband had been sexually, physically and emotionally abusive, had bragged about his infidelities and forced her to get an abortion. The case’s jury acquitted Lorena Bobbitt, and John Bobbitt was found not guilty of rape. In the following years, John Bobbitt was convicted of battery multiple times, with different women.

Sundance’s description of “Lorena” states, “This groundbreaking series re-investigates the story that made international headlines and helped birth a 24-hour news cycle, exploring vital moral issues and the missed opportunity for a national discussion about domestic violence and sexual assault within this American scandal.”

The film festival has carved out a space for TV premieres. In 2016, Sundance premiered “O.J.: Made in America,” a five-part ESPN documentary series that eventually won an Academy Award for best documentary feature.

Monday’s announcement also included the 2019 festival’s other TV premieres, short films and indie episodic offerings. Among the lineup is the Wu-Tang Clan documentary series “Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men” and the season premiere of “Documentary Now!”, the faux-documentary series created by “Saturday Night Live” alums Fred Armisen, Bill Hader and Seth Meyers.

To see the full lineup, visit sundance.org/blogs.

CREDIT: Court Mann, Deseret News