Accused
Based on the true story of Lucia de Berk, who was wrongly imprisoned for six years
Nurse Lucia has been present at one inexplicable death too many, and the hospital alerts the police. Assistant District Attorney Judith, driven by ambition and genuinely outraged, gets caught in the “politics” of the hospital and her own legal department and Lucia is shockingly sentenced to life in prison. But something keeps troubling Judith, and she discovers inconsistencies in witness statements, and even the suppression of lab evidence. Ignored by her superiors, Judith teams up with Lucia’s lawyer, but at every appeal the original guilty is confirmed. Things look bleak until they get the media involved and the biggest miscarriage of justice in Dutch history is finally reversed.
ORIGINAL TITLE
Lucia de B.
RELEASE YEAR
2014
GENRE
Drama thriller
LANGUAGE
Dutch
DIRECTOR
Paula van der Oest
WRITERS
Moniek Kramer in collaboration with Tijs van Marle
CAST
Ariane Schluter, Sallie Harmsen, Barry Atsma, Fedja van Huêt, Annet Malherbe
CO-PRO
Living Stone (BE), Filmkreatörerna (SE), Lucil Films (LUX), NCRV (NL)
CREATIVE PRODUCER
Jelle Nesna
FINANCIERS
Netherlands Film Fund, CoBO Fund (NL), Swedish Film Institute, MEDIA-programme i2i
DISTRIBUTOR
Independent Films
SALES AGENT
Rinkel Film
SOLD TO
12 territories
FESTIVALS AND AWARDS
Oscar-shortlisted 2015
Palm Springs Film Festival
Milan IFF – Awards for Best Director, Best Acting Performance, Best Editing, Audience award
Hong Kong IFF
Minneapolis St. Paul IFF
Washington IFF
Seattle IFF
Seoul International Women’s Film Festival
Shanghai IFF
Netherlands Film Festival – nominated Golden Calf Best Actress