The director of Capturing the Friedmans is Andrew Jarecki. He created the documentary in such a way that it tells the story of the family and the sexual crimes that Arnold and Jesse Friedman were convicted of. The film is set up in a way that makes sure that the members of the Friedman family share their experiences as a family unit, their relationship with their father and mother and their thoughts on the situation.
The film starts as old videotapes of the Friedman family are shown as they are having normal family time. The family dynamic is shown through the video tapes that Jesse recorded and the audiotapes that David recorded. The video tapes show celebrations, days out with the children and family dinners before the allegations of sexual crimes were discovered by the police. As such, the director ensures that the viewer sees the family dynamic before the investigation started.
After the investigation started, the stories of Arnold and Jessie whose stories are in recorded videotapes, an interview with Elaine Friedman who is the wife and mother of the family, and the testimony of the investigator of the crime and the victims are meshed. This shows the effect that the crimes had on the Friedman family.
