Coming soon: a documentary by George Santos about his ‘human side’

George Santos, the disgraced former congressman who is trying to parlay his fame into a cottage industry, is now participating in a documentary film project about his colorful lies, life and times.

The film is led by Jenner Furst, a successful documentary filmmaker whose projects include a Peabody award-winning documentary about Kalief Browder, a young Bronx man whose suicide after a lengthy detention on Rikers Island became a symbol of the collapse of the criminal justice system in New York City. .

Mr. Furst is also known for his documentary genre that he calls straight comedy, and it is those stories — including the Amazon docuseries “LuLaRich,” about a leggings pyramid scheme, and “Fyre Fraud” — that have lagged behind. the scenes from a high-end music festival that wasn’t – which earned him a special award.

“I’m a con man whisperer,” Mr. Furst said, laughing.

Of the two films, “Fyre Fraud,” which debuted on Hulu in 2019, was a particularly big hit. It was one of two competing projects on the subject and the only one to interview the story’s ostensible villain, Billy McFarland, who had pleaded guilty to fraud and agreed to forfeit $26 million.

But the project was criticized after it emerged that Mr Furst had compensated Mr McFarland for licensing materials used in the film.

Mr. Santos will also receive financial compensation for his participation, in the form of compensation for archive material. Mr Furst claimed the arrangement was common in the industry, which has exploded in recent years after streaming giants such as Hulu and Netflix began investing heavily in documentaries. He said the payment – the amount of which he declined to reveal – would cover photos, videos and “a lot of personal things that people have never seen.”

Mr. Furst is aware that many find it distasteful that Mr. Santos is profiting from his fame.

But he rejects this view, explaining that his work helps ensure that justice is served in the long run: “The only way people can get their money back is if money is created somehow, by putting money in their hands.” Furst said.

Filming is already underway for the documentary, which Mr. Furst says will include interviews with some of Mr. Santos’ inner circle.

The ex-congressman still faces 23 felony charges, including wire fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft. Prosecutors say he defrauded campaign donors and the federal government through a series of criminal schemes.

Mr Furst insisted that no issue is off the table, from the smallest allegation to the most serious.

But the filmmaker hopes the project will bring some humanity to the story of Mr. Santos, whose sins, he said, pale in comparison to the corporate, government and social systems that shape our culture.

“I’m really focusing more on the human side of the story,” Mr. Furst said, saying he would strive to understand Mr. Santos’ youth, insecurities, heartbreak and betrayal.

Asked whether he believes Mr. Santos’ misdeeds, both accused and admitted, should disqualify him from holding office, Mr. Furst called it “a foolish question.”

“There is the illusion that there are good people and bad people,” he said in an interview. “In the end, there is still the truth. And I am committed to the truth. And somehow I think that, as someone committed to the truth in a post-truth era, I can no longer be so religiously committed to the existence of the truth.”

Mr. Furst said he is not concerned about the possibility that Mr. Santos may not be completely honest with him. “He could tell me lies all the time. Ultimately, based on my ability to confirm the truth around him, that becomes… pure entertainment.”

This is hardly the first time that Mr Santos has been able to profit from his escapades: earlier this month he listed himself on the Cameo platform, which allows users to pay celebrities for short personalized video messages. In his first week, Mr. Santos earned more than $174,000, the company confirmed — the equivalent of a year of his earnings as a member of Congress.

Since then, Mr. Santos, who has raised his rates to $500 per video, has rarely wasted opportunities, even introducing a limited Christmas edition “Santos-Claus” series of Cameos that he said would help “make Christmas great again to make!

Mr. Santos has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

But last week, Santos’ attorney, Joseph Murray, told a judge during a court appearance that he was negotiating with prosecutors about ways to wrap up the case without going to trial, which may or may not include restitution payments .

Mr Santos is due to appear in court on January 23.