Sundance doc 'Crime After Crime' to roll out nationwide after LA Film Fest preem (HWT)

By Nancy Tartaglione

Sundance entry "Crime After Crime" will open at the IFC Center in NY on July 1 and in LA on July 8 with a national roll-out to follow, it was announced Thursday. OWN, which acquired the film at Sundance, will broadcast the documentary in the fall and include it as part of OWN's Documentary Film Club, modeled after Oprah's Book Club.

The film, directed by Yoav Potash, recently picked up the San Francisco International Film Festival's Golden Gate Award for Investigative Documentary Feature. It will have its LA premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival at a free outdoor screening on June 25.

"Crime After Crime" tells the story of the legal battle to free Debbie Peagler, an incarcerated survivor of domestic violence. The synopsis is below:

Over 26 years in prison could not crush the spirit of this determined African-American woman, despite the wrongs she suffered, first at the hands of a duplicitous boyfriend who beat her and forced her into prostitution, and later by prosecutors who used the threat of the death penalty to corner her into a life behind bars for her connection to the murder of her abuser.

Her story takes an unexpected turn two decades later when two rookie land-use attorneys step forward to take her case. Through their perseverance, they bring to light long-lost witnesses, new testimonies from the men who committed the murder, and proof of perjured evidence. Their investigation ultimately attracts global attention to victims of wrongful incarceration and abuse, and becomes a matter of life and death once more.

Potash will work with Michael Tuckman's mTuckman media to bring the theatrical release of the film to multiple markets, with Film Presence tapped to handle community outreach through various domestic abuse, legal aid and film orgs.

"I'm thrilled to bring 'Crime After Crime' to movie theaters, coast to coast," said Potash. "There is something contagious about this film, something that makes people strongly urge their friends and family to see it, and we're excited to partner with OWN, mTuckman media, Film Presence, and many organizations and communities across the country to harness that energy and further the change that the film represents."