The next film dealing with Penn State and the State College community will hit center stage next week at Sundance Film Festival, a highly selective annual event that draws thousands of submissions to premiere over the course of ten days. The Tillman Story filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev directed Happy Valley, a nonfiction feature that will focus on "the Penn State University community that was rocked in 2011 by charges of sexual abuse involving former Nittany Lions assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky."
The family of Joe Paterno had a partial victory today as Judge John Leete, ruling over its lawsuit against the NCAA, permitted parts of it to move forward. The family, along with various former coaches, trustees, and players, brought forth a lawsuit challenging various aspects of the NCAA's sanctions against Penn State and their effects on the community.
Former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky testified for more than two hours Tuesday morning during his pension forfeiture hearing in Harrisburg. Sandusky appeared via closed-circuit TV from State Correctional Institute-Greene in Waynesburg for the administrative appeals hearing with the State Employees' Retirement System (SERS).
The Pennsylvania Superior Court's recent unanimous decision to overturn the child endangerment conviction for a Catholic Church leader could have a direct impact on the case against three former Penn State administrators accused of similar crimes.
But despite its flaws and blue and white slant, "365 Days: A Year In Happy Valley" captured the honest spirit of our community better than any media I've seen since November 2011.
There are at least three documentaries focused on the Sandusky fallout in the final production stages, but none are more hyped than "365 Days: A Year in Happy Valley." Directed by Erik Proulx and produced by Eric Porterfield, the full-length documentary will premiere tonight at the State Theatre in a special invitation-only red carpet event.