(Aug 16, 2010) Tucson, AZ -- On Friday night at the Screening Room in Tucson, Congressman Raúl Grijalva will introduce a FREE screening of 9500 LIBERTY.  The award-winning documentary explores the rise and fall of an immigration policy in Prince William County, VA that required police to check immigration status based on a controversial standard of suspicion.

"9500 Liberty" FREE screening
Friday, August 20 at 7 pm
The Screening Room
127 East Congress Street
Tucson, AZ 85701-170
(520) 882-0204
English with Spanish subtitles.
Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, director Eric Byler in person

MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Eric Byler will be in Tucson for media interviews Thurs. morning (8/19) & Friday afternoon.

Similar events will have already taken place in Bisbee, Arivaca, and Green Valley with dozens more being planned throughout the state.  The "Liberty Arizona" screening tour intends to bring 9500 LIBERTY to 30 Arizona cities and towns before the end of the year, with help from donations made to the non-profit 501(c)3 that produced the film. 

Friday's event will be presented in English with Spanish subtitles, and followed by a community discussion to include 9500 LIBERTY co-director Eric Byler, a Prince William County, VA resident.  "I feel a connection to Arizonans trying to sort out this issue," Byler said.  "I've already lived what they are living now.  So, when I visit, I try to serve as a resource, and as someone who understands their predicament better than most non-Arizonans do."

Film critic Roger Ebert praised 9500 LIBERTY when it opened in Chicago last month, suggesting Arizonans in particular take note.  But the film's biggest fans are in law enforcement.  Earlier this year, 9500 LIBERTY was presented at the Police Executives Research Forum convention in Philadelphia, PA, and at the Major County Sheriffs' Association convention in Anaheim, CA.  

9500 LIBERTY was rushed into "emergency theatrical release" when SB 1070 was signed in April.  The film ran for six weeks and earned more than $30,000 in box office, leading to theatrical engagements around the country.

"A few years before Arizona passed its new immigration law, a similar law was passed and then repealed in Virginia's Prince William County. The documentary “9500 Liberty” tells thefascinating story of how that happened, and possibly foretells what lies ahead for Arizona. In Virginia, the law was eventually overturned by a combination of middle-class whites, Republican office holders, the police chief, Latinos and economic reality."
—Roger Ebert, The Chicago Sun-Times

“This engrossing documentary traces ugly repercussions in northern Virginia when a resolution is passed requiring cops to
question anyone they have ‘probable cause’ to suspect of being an illegal alien.”
—Dennis Harvey, Variety

“There are certain films in certain times that make it exceedingly difficult to shut out the world around you. 9500 Liberty is one of them."
- Bill, Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic

"With an uplifting turn of events and some extraordinary acts of conscience,
9500 Liberty is as dramatically charged as any fiction movie. And ultimately, it’s as powerful a booster of the democratic process as anything Frank Capra ever imprinted into our collective memory."
—Desson Thomson, The Wrap

"9500 Liberty is a well made, engaging example of the documentary form, a film in which compelling storytelling transcends politics."
—Slackerwood.com