Texas Focus: True Conviction
Texas Spirit Theater | NR | 84 min. | Documentary
February 8, 2018 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Join the Bullock Museum for a screening and conversation about the Texas documentary True Conviction.
Three exonerated men in Dallas, Texas, start a detective agency to help free wrongfully convicted prisoners and form a personal bond along the way.
Event Details
True Conviction, filmed in Dallas, Texas, by documentary filmmaker Jamie Meltzer, explores the investigative and philanthropic work of the unlikeliest of teams: three Texas prison exonerees. Christopher Scott, Johnnie Lindsey and Steven Phillips served more than sixty years combined in prison for crimes they did not commit. Their goal is to help wrongfully convicted prisoners obtain freedom like they did--through the emergence of DNA evidence or new information.
A cinematic exploration of the Texas narrative, the Museum's Texas Focus Film Series highlights stories by, for, and about Texans. This evening's program includes a film screening and Q&A with documentary subjects Christopher Scott and Steven Phillips. Come early at 6pm for a welcome reception with cash bar.
Please note: Entrance for this screening will be at the IMAX lobby doors.
Your ticket purchase supports the Bullock Museum's exhibitions and educational programming.
Rating: NR
Suggested age: 18+
Directors: Jamie Meltzer
Runtime: 84 min.
Genre: Documentary
Release year: 2017
True Conviction was shot in Texas and premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival where it received a Special Jury Mention in the Best Documentary Category. It also won the Grand Jury Prize at the Oak Cliff Film Festival for Best Documentary Feature.
Jamie Meltzer’s feature documentary films have been broadcast nationally on PBS and have screened at numerous film festivals worldwide. True Conviction is a co-production of ITVS and the recipient of a Sundance Institute grant and a MacArthur grant. Previous films include: Informant (2012), about a revolutionary activist turned FBI informant, Off the Charts: The Song-Poem Story (Independent Lens, 2003), about the shadowy world of song-poems, Welcome to Nollywood (PBS Broadcast, 2007), an investigation into the wildly successful Nigerian movie industry, and La Caminata (2009), a short film about a small town in Mexico that runs a simulated border crossing as a tourist attraction. He teaches and is the Program Director of the M.F.A. Program in Documentary Film at Stanford University.
In 1997, Christopher Scott was wrongfully convicted of capital murder as a result of faulty eyewitness identification. Scott was exonerated in 2009, based on another man’s detailed confession. After his release, Scott founded the House of Renewed Hope, a non-profit organization whose goal is to investigate individuals claiming actual innocence. In 2012, he was named The Dallas Morning News “Texan of the Year” for his good work. Scott continues to advocate for reform of the Texas criminal justice system.
More than 25 years after he was sent to prison for a string of Texas sex crimes he did not commit, Steven Phillips was released on parole in 2007. One year later, DNA testing proved his innocence and he was freed. The DNA testing that exonerated Phillips also implicated another man – who allegedly committed at least 16 other sexual assaults and related offenses while Phillips was incarcerated.
The Texas Spirit Theater located on the Bullock Museum's second floor is one of the most beautiful film experiences in Austin and features multi-sensory special effects such as lightning, rain, and other surprises.
Museum Members enjoy free unlimited IMAX® documentary films, discounts on feature film tickets, free exhibition admission, discounts in the Museum Store, and more. Learn More.
Learn about ticket prices, refund policies, and parking (free after 5 pm). For evening programs, please enter through the Bullock Museum IMAX Theatre.
