The premiere of the highly anticipated and controversial film “The Barrel of a Gun” will take place Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at 7:00 PM at the Merriam Theater, 250 South Broad Street, Philadelphia.
Filmmaker Tigre Hill says he has uncovered “rare new insight” concerning what he boldly asserts was the premeditated 1981 killing of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner and the subsequent conviction of death-row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal. Tickets for the premiere are on sale now at www.kimmelcenter.org at two basic price points: $46.99 for general admission and $100 for the VIP ticket, which includes premium seating and entrance to the exclusive after-party at The Irish Pub at 1123 Walnut Street. A portion of the premiere’s proceeds will be donated to the Daniel Faulkner Educational Grant Fund, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, which provides educational grants to children whose parents were the victims of violent crimes.
The ticket fees are rich with symbolism, #4699 being Daniel Faulkner’s badge number and the Irish Pub on 12th being a bar located along Faulkner’s beat and one he would frequent with his buddies post-shift. “My hope in telling this tragic story,” says Hill, who started shooting the film in late 2006, “is to fully examine the events leading up to the early morning of December 9, 1981 and the aftermath in the manner it deserves.”
“The Barrel of a Gun” is causing a stir from Philadelphia to Hollywood to Germany as anti-death penalty activists and Abu-Jamal supporters are already on heightened alert: the U.S. Supreme Court on January 19 vacated a federal appeals court ruling that threw out Abu-Jamal’s death sentence because of a confusingly worded verdict instruction that arguably led the jury to a sentence of death over life in prison, and returned the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit for a new hearing.
Watch Hill’s gripping trailer for “The Barrel of a Gun” at www.youtube.com/thebarrelofagun, follow news about the film on Facebook (Search: The Barrel of a Gun) and on Twitter (@thebarrelofagun). You can also read Philadelphia Magazine’s profile about Tigre Hill and his movie at http://www.phillymag.com/articles/movies_the_gospel_according_to_tigre.
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