“9500 LIBERTY” TO PREMIERE ON MTV NETWORKS, PRESS SCREENING TONIGHT
Award-winning film on SB 1070 precursor will reach 100 million homes starting Sept. 26
screening, panel discussion, cocktail reception
NY Times Building
620 8th Avenue (Entrance on 41 street), Time Square}
5:30 to 8:00 pm
- John Quinones, ABC Primetime Anchor
- Annabel Park, 9500 Liberty co-director and Coffee Party founder
- Corey Stewart, Prince William County BOCS Chairman
- Chuck Wexler, E.D. of the Police Executives Research Forum
- Maria Kumar, Voto Latino Co-founder
- Paul Rodriguez, Comedian
- moderated by New York Times reporter Fernanda Santos
9500 LIBERTY is directed by Annabel Park and Eric Byler, founders of the Coffee Party, which holds its first national convention in Louisville, KY Sept. 24-26, the same weekend as the film’s cable premiere.
Park will speak on tonight’s panel along side Tea Party favorite Corey Stewart, a leading figure in 9500 LIBERTY. This will provide an opportunity for the two to reconcile conflicting accounts of events portrayed in the film. For instance, Stewart has publicly denied the vote on April 29, 2008 that removed the most controversial aspect of the law (a key scene in the film), and made claims about immigration and crime that contradict statistics cited in the film.
As Chairman of the Prince William County Board of County Supervisors, Stewart used “The Immigration Resolution” as the center of his reelection campaign in 2007. Implemented on March 6, 2008, Stewart’s law required police officers to question people they had “probable cause” to suspect may be in the country illegally. With Arizona’s version pending in federal court and other jurisdictions around the country considering similar measures, Prince William County remains the only jurisdiction in the United States to implement such a mandate. Stewart is now lobbying to revive the law, this time throughout Virginia.
The cable debut of 9500 LIBERTY will be on Sunday, September 26th at 8pm (ET/PT) on MTV2, mtvU (MTV’s 24-hour college network), and Tr3s: MTV, Música y Más (formerly MTV Tr3s) as part of Hispanic Heritage Month.
“The decisions our elected representatives make on immigration reform now will impact our audience for generations,” said Stephen Friedman, EVP & GM of MTV Networks. “As the national debate rages, MTV is committed to engaging America’s youth as informed and active participants – and sharing this powerful film is a great way to start that process.”
“To compete in the 21st century, America needs a new generation of leaders who have grown up thriving in the richness of diversity,” Park said. “People under 30 know intuitively where we need to go as a nation. We need to hear from them more often.”
