West Michigan documentary highlighting wrongful conviction selected for fifth film festival
A Grand Rapids filmmaker had his documentary film accepted into the 29th Lake Michigan Film Festival, which takes place at the end of February.
SPRING LAKE — A Grand Rapids filmmaker had his documentary film accepted into the 29th Lake Michigan Film Festival, which takes place at the end of February.
"Wronged: The Maurice Carter Story" was recently accepted by the film festival, the Spring Lake-based Humanity for Prisoners advocacy group announced Monday.
Directed by award-winning producer Nate Roels, the film chronicles the harrowing journey of Maurice Carter, a man whose life was forever altered by a wrongful conviction.
In 1976, in Benton Harbor, Michigan, Carter, then 31, was wrongfully convicted of shooting an off-duty police officer. He spent almost 29 years in Michigan prisons before his life sentence was commuted in 2004 due to his health, but his name was never cleared.
Lake Michigan Film Festival will take place Feb. 26-March 1. The film will be shown during the social documentaries timeslot of 12:30 p.m. March 1 at Studio C theatre, 1999 Central Park Drive, in Okemos.
Carter's story inspired Spring Lake resident Doug Tjapkes to found Humanity for Prisoners in 2001; the organization is dedicated to supporting prisoners and their families in navigating the challenges of incarceration and represents over 11,000 Michigan inmates.
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The Lake Michigan Film Festival (LMFF) was previously part of the East Lansing Film Festival for over 20 years, but it is now its own festival. Makers of films from Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin were invited to participate.
"Wronged: The Maurice Carter Story" was shown at film festivals last year in Sault Ste. Marie, Birmingham, Grand Rapids, Mount Pleasant and Saugatuck. It was the first recipient of the coveted Galligan Award for Film Excellence in the Saugatuck Film Fest.
For more information, contact HFP CEO Mark Hartman at 616-935-0075 or visit elff.com/Films/social-justice-documentaries.
— Submitted by Doug Tjapkes. To submit a news tip, email newsroom@ottawanewsnetwork.org.
