Author John Grisham hosted a fundraiser in Arlington for Charlottesville-based Legal Aid Justice Center, The fundraiser featured the story of the Immigration Resolution in Prince William County, filmed by 9500 Liberty. I felt the entire story should be posted. Here it is, with credit to Mr. Hunley.
Jonathan Hunley
Manassas News and Messenger
ARLINGTON—A line of people started forming quickly around Prince William County police Chief Charlie T. Deane.
They wanted to introduce themselves, shake his hand, maybe even chat him up.
The eager group wasn’t all law enforcement members, though, or even people who had followed Deane’s more than four decades as a policeman.
They were interested in Charlie Deane, Movie Star.
Deane was one of a handful of Prince William area folks who came to the Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre on Thursday night for the latest screening of “9500 Liberty,” a documentary on the region’s fight over immigration.
The issue, which flared in 2007, lately has taken a back seat to economic woes. But it played out again on the big screen and was introduced by an even bigger name.
The movie, 78 minutes in its current incarnation, was the centerpiece for a $25-a-head fundraiser for the Charlottesville-based Legal Aid Justice Center, which advocates for low-income Virginians.
The event was headlined by best-selling author and Charlottesville resident John Grisham, a supporter of the Legal Aid Justice Center, which has a program geared toward immigrant workers.
“9500 Liberty” was made by Gainesville resident Eric Byler and his fiancee, Annabel Park, who lives in Silver Spring, Md. They began filming in August 2007 after Prince William supervisors first took on the issue of immigrants in the county illegally.
They first released videos on the Web site YouTube, and have gradually added to and tweaked the work. Thursday was the first time the current version was screened, but Park said it likely will be revised further.
