Executive Producers Danny Glover, John Legend, Brad Pitt, and Russell Simmons Present a Free Screening of THE HOUSE I LIVE IN at The Apollo Theater
Filmmakers Teaming Up with Victims of Drug War, Advocacy Groups, Law Enforcement, Elected Officials across Country to Educate and Mobilize to End Disastrous War on Drugs
NEW YORK, NY—(ENEWSPF)—October 1, 2012. Executive Producers Danny Glover, John Legend, Brad Pitt, and Russell Simmons present a free community screening of the Sundance award-winning documentary “The House I Live In” at the famous Apollo Theater on Thursday October 4. Organizers of the event have rented out the historic Harlem theater and provided free tickets to dozens of community groups in Harlem and around New York City for a special showing on the eve of the film’s New York theatrical release. The community screening in New York is part of a coordinated effort by the filmmakers to partner with a vast array of advocacy groups, legislators and law enforcement to spread the film’s message about the disastrous consequences of the failed war on drugs.
Since the 1970’s the war on drugs has accounted for 45 million arrests and has cost more than $1 trillion. As a result, the United States has become the world’s largest jailer, and the high volume of drug arrests have destroyed low-income communities, creating a vicious cycle that must be stopped.
New York, like so much of America, has felt the devastation and racial disparities of the failed drug war. New York was home of the Rockefeller drug laws, the first state mandatory minimum laws that sent tens of thousands of people to prison for a minimum of fifteen years for first time nonviolent drug offenses. 90 percent of the people jailed under the Rockefeller drug laws are Black and Latino. Today, NYC is the marijuana arrest capital of the world, with 50,000-plus people arrested for marijuana possession every year, despite marijuana being decriminalized since 1977. Blacks and Latinos are targeted more, making up 84 percent of those arrested despite similar rates of marijuana use among every racial group.
Written and directed by award-winning filmmaker Eugene Jarecki “The House I Live In” offers a poignant look inside US drug policy and its far reaching impact. Executive Producers include Danny Glover, John Legend, Brad Pitt, Russell Simmons, and Joslyn Barnes. The film will be opening in New York on October 5, in Los Angeles on October 12 and other cities around the country through October and November. Jarecki has partnered with criminal justice reform groups around the country to host free screenings. In New York, groups attending the event include the Drug Policy Alliance, Correctional Association, Campaign to End the New Jim Crow, Prison Ministry of Riverside Church, VOCAL-NY, Center for NuLeadership, CitiWide Harm Reduction, and many more.
What: Screening of THE HOUSE I LIVE IN
When: Thursday October 4 – doors at 5:30, film begins at 6:30 sharp
Where: The Apollo Theater, 253 West 125th Street, New York, NY
THE HOUSE I LIVE IN
Official Website: http://www.thehouseilivein.org
Official Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0atL1HSwi8&feature=player_embedded
THE HOUSE I LIVE IN opens theatrically on Friday October 5 in New York City at Angelika Film Center and Lincoln Plaza Cinemas.
Source: www.drugpolicy.org
