CREDIT: COURTESY OF HBO
HBO’s Leaving Neverland won the best documentary or nonfiction special at the 2019 Creative Arts Emmys on Saturday, September 14.
The two-part project directed by Dan Reed was nominated in the following categories: Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program, Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program, Outstanding Sound Editing for a Nonfiction Program (Single or Multi-Camera), and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Nonfiction Program (Single or Multi-Camera).
The four-hour film featured testimonies from Wade Robson and James Safechuck, two men who allege they were sexually abused in the 1990’s by the late Michael Jackson, starting at the ages of 7 and 10, respectively.
Leaving Neverland originally premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Jackson’s estate called the film “a tabloid character assassination” and insisted that the film is not a documentary. Jackson’s family called Reed, Robson and Safechuck “opportunists.”