THE JAUNDICED EYE
In 1989 Stephen Matthews and his father were sentenced to 35 years in prison for sexually abusing Stephen's five-year-old son. Presented with no physical evidence, the jury was swayed by a number of factors, including the boy's testimony. Chronicling a decade-long quest for exoneration, The Jaundiced Eye is the latest powerful film from the producers of Waco: Rules of Engagement (MIFF 1998). Driven by Stephen's ex-wife and her homophobic boyfriend—Stephen came out sometime after the child's birth—the charges against the Matthews' gained hysteria and momentum. The film shows how by simply being gay, Stephen's fate was in the hands of a jury who equated homosexuality with pedophilia. The Jaundiced Eye is a rivetting analysis that balances the human, scientific and legal aspects of this complex, high emotional case, with amazing precision and clarity.