Press Release: Queens World Film Festival official selection

Moral High Ground Productions announces the official selection of NO HUMAN INVOLVED by the Queens World Film Festival
Join us at a press conference at the Museum of the Moving Image, 9.30 am February 14, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Director/Producer PJ Starr and Co-Producer Mar Trevino are proud to announce that the documentary NO HUMAN INVOLVED will screen at the Queens World Film Festival in March 2017.

Director PJ Starr will attend a press conference organized by the Queens World Film Festival at 9.30 am, February 14, 2017 at the Museum of the Moving Image, Astoria, Queens. "I am extremely proud to have No Human Involved screen for the first time in the NYC area at the Queens World Film Festival," PJ Starr commented. "The festival is both global and local, featuring 135 films from 25 nations. This is extremely meaningful to me as immigrant filmmaker who has had the honor to document the tenacious spirit of organizing for justice in the name of Marcia Powell."

NO HUMAN INVOLVED uncovers the truth about Marcia Powell—a woman destroyed by a 27-month prison sentence for prostitution—and documents the tenacity of those who vow to fight for justice in her name.

In 2009 after she was sentenced to more than two years imprisonment for prostitution, Marcia was locked in a metal cage in the desert sun at an Arizona prison. Four hours later she collapsed in the over 107 degree heat, and by day’s end she was dead. Even though an internal investigation revealed that guards had denied her water and ridiculed her when she pleaded for help, no one was ever held accountable for her death. Marcia’s story motivates audiences to question the system that justified her incarceration because of her engagement in the sex trade, as viewers empathize with her humanity realizing that what happened to her, may also happen to so many more people. Dan Pochoda, Senior Counsel, ACLU of Arizona writes about the film that, “Marcia Powell’s completely avoidable death is symptomatic of larger problems we see in the management of the Arizona Department of Corrections and prisons across the country… highlighting Ms. Powell’s tragedy will cause more people to realize that we, as a society, are responsible for the treatment of people in our jails and prisons and we must act to prevent such cruelty and inhumanity in the future.”

In addition to uncovering key issues that lead to Marcia Powell’s death, the film highlights the work of Peggy Plews of Arizona Prison Watch, Kini Seawright of Seawright Prison Justice, author Carl Toersbijns, human rights advocate Monica Jones, the Sex Workers Outreach Project, the National Organization for Women (Sun Cities/West Valley Chapter) and many others.

Please join us at the Queens World Film Festival at 5.30 pm on March 16, 2017 at the Museum of the Moving Image to celebrate the premiere screening of NO HUMAN INVOLVED in the NYC area. Special guest Monica Jones will be traveling from Arizona to attend the screening along with director PJ Starr and others involved in the creation of the documentary.

Follow us on Twitter @free_Marcia for live updates from the press conference on Valentine's day and visit www.nohumaninvolvedfilm.com for more information about the film.