Just days ahead of its February 21 premiere, HBO has released a new trailer for “Allen v Farrow,” a documentary series that delves into accusations of paedophilia and sexual assault against renowned writer-actor-director Woody Allen.
The four-part series charts the heyday of Allen’s partnership with actress Mia Farrow, the mother of three of his children. Then the story unravels, with a focus on allegations that he sexually abused Farrow’s adopted daughter Dylan.
The trailer — which promises a deep dive into court documents, audio tapes and footage of the child describing the abuse — also includes an interview with the actress.
“I was over-the-moon happy,” Mia Farrow says, looking back on her early years with Allen. “But that’s the great regret of my life. I wish I’d never met him.”
She then recounts finding a “stack of Polaroid pictures” of her adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn, whom Allen subsequently married.
“I remember struggling to breathe,” she adds.
For years, Dylan Farrow has maintained that Allen groomed and abused her when she was 7 years old.
“I told the truth to the authorities then, and I have been telling it, unaltered, for more than 20 years,” she wrote in a 2017 op-ed for The Times.
“Allen’s pattern of inappropriate behaviour — putting his thumb in my mouth, climbing into bed with me in his underwear, constant grooming and touching — was witnessed by friends and family members,” she added.
“Many publications refuse to run broadsides against me and my family, while others happily repeat the distortions. They repeat that my allegations were made during a custody dispute, which is not true. In fact, Allen sued for custody of me and Ronan [Farrow, her brother,] only after the investigation into child abuse began.”
Allen has repeatedly denied the allegations. Still, in the wake of the #MeToo movement, he’s lost a book deal and became embroiled in a legal spat with Amazon, which Allen accused of wrongfully ending production and distribution deals for his films and sued for $68 million in damages.
The series “Allen v Farrow” is directed by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, the filmmakers behind the campus rape documentary “The Hunting Ground” and “On the Record,” which examines accusations of sexual abuse against entertainment entrepreneur Russell Simmons.
