‘The Trials Of Gabriel Fernandez’ Is ‘Very, Very Intense,’ Netflix Director Warns

A new Netflix documentary that follows the true story of Gabriel Fernandez -- an 8-year-old boy who was placed in some of the most gut-wrenching conditions imaginable -- is being described by the filmmaker as “a really difficult watch,” but one that’s “important.”

Fernandez was rushed to the hospital on the morning of May 22, 2013. The boy had visible signs of abuse, including clear signs he had been beaten and starved for a long period of time. Despite receiving hospital care, Fernandez died just two days after he arrived.

With a story so horrendous such as this one, filmmaker Brian Knappenberger decided that for his movie, “The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez,” they weren’t going to sugarcoat the truth, he told Entertainment Weekly.

“We made the decision that Gabriel’s voice needed to be heard, and in order to tell that story we had to be as honest and as straightforward as we possibly could,” Knappenberger explained.

“The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez” isn’t entirely bleak, the documentarian hopes, explaining: “There’s no question parts of it are very, very intense,” Knappenberger continued. “But, I think by following the case, the trials, how it was resolved, will help people learn how we can make the system better — which is really the heart of the piece.”

Knappenberger explained that his Netflix documentary “The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez” is a story of redemption and, in a way, a call to action that challenges the system to be better. It’s what motivated him to tell the story of Fernandez.

Prior to Netflix film “The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez,” Knappenberger is most known for two other notable and acclaimed documentary films: “The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz” and the Anonymous hacker group documentary “We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists.”

Knappenberger has been working on “The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez” since the trials themselves in 2018. The Netflix crime documentary is available to stream since Feb. 26.