MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact: Debra Rubino
(410)234-1091
OSI-Baltimore and the Maryland Film Festival host a screening and discussion
of the provocative film that looks inside America’s criminal justice system
and uncovers shocking revelations.
What: Screening and discussion of “The House I Live In,” a prize-winning film about America’s War on Drugs. The screening will be followed by a conversation with Eugene Jarecki, the writer, director and producer of “The House I Live In,” and Judge Andre Davis, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. David Simon, creator of “The Wire,” will introduce the film.
When: 7 p.m., Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Where: The Charles Theater
1711 North Charles Street, Baltimore
BALTIMORE—As America remains embroiled in overseas conflicts, a less visible war is taking place at home, costing countless lives, destroying families and inflicting untold damage on countless Americans. For more than 40 years, the trillion-dollar war on drugs has accounted for 45 million arrests, made America the world’s largest jailer and damaged poor communities at home and abroad.
Yet for all that, drugs are cheaper, purer and more available today than ever before.
The Open Society Institute-Baltimore and the Maryland Film Festival are presenting a screening of a penetrating documentary that delves into America’s criminal justice system, revealing the profound human rights implications of U.S. drug policy.
Filmed in more than 20 states, “The House I Live In” captures heart-wrenching stories at all levels of America’s drug war — from the dealer to the grieving mother, the narcotics officer to the senator, the inmate to the federal judge.
Together, these stories pose urgent questions: What caused the war? What perpetuates it? And what can be done to stop it?
“The House I Live In,” winner of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for Documentary, recognizes the seriousness of substance abuse as a matter of public health, but investigates the tragic errors and shortcomings that have meant the disease is more often treated as a law enforcement matter, creating a vast machine that feeds largely on America’s poor and minority communities. The film examines how political and economic corruption has fueled the war for 40 years, despite persistent evidence of its moral, economic and practical failures.
The screening will be followed by a frank and probing conversation with Eugene Jarecki, director, writer and producer of “The House I Live In,” and Judge Andre Davis of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Judge Davis, who has served on the OSI-Baltimore board since 2000, has been outspoken about the war on drugs, and in particular, mandatory minimum sentencing laws.
David Simon, creator of “The Wire,” will introduce the film and offer insights into the damage caused by the war on drugs.
The event is free and open to the public.
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As the only field office for the Open Society Foundations’ U.S. Programs, Open Society Institute-Baltimore focuses on the root causes of three intertwined problems in our city and state: drug addiction, an overreliance on incarceration, and obstacles that keep youth from succeeding both inside and outside the classroom. We also support a growing corps of social entrepreneurs committed to underserved populations in Baltimore. Before we make a single grant, we analyze the root causes of a problem and examine research and innovative practices aimed at tackling the problem. Because we aim for lasting, sustainable solutions, we engage public and private partners from the start. It is only then, with a clear picture of the problem, that we begin to focus our approach and diligently craft a road map for change.