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Arts & Entertainment

Jewish Family Service's Project SARAH Presents Documentary by La Jolla Filmmaker In Support of Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Jewish Family Service’s Project SARAH will feature Crime After Crime, an exclusive documentary by La Jolla filmmaker Yoav Potash, in support of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The event, which will benefit the Project SARAH program, will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 27, 2011 at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037.

Filmmaker Yoav Potash of La Jolla and Attorney Joshua Safran will join participants for this special event. Crime After Crime is a powerfully-received documentary on the legal battle to free Debbie Peagler, a woman imprisoned for more than a quarter century in connection with the murder of the man who abused her. Her only hope for freedom arrives when two rookie attorneys, with no background in criminal law, step forward to take her case.  

Project SARAH (www.jfssd.com/projectsarah) is a program of Jewish Family Service that addresses domestic violence in the San Diego community. Project SARAH provides counseling, case management and advocacy services to individuals and families who are impacted by domestic violence and all forms of abuse. The program also features a domestic violence therapeutic support group which addresses issues such as safety planning, assertiveness, boundary setting, communication, parenting, self-esteem and identifying abusive patterns and how to avoid them. It is the only program in the community reaching out to Jewish survivors of domestic violence. Outreach efforts, are also an essential program component. Through educating professionals, rabbis, other community leaders, youth and families, Project SARAH promotes recognition and awareness of domestic violence in Jewish families, encourages victims to come forward and receive help, and influences a reduction in the future incidence of domestic abuse within the community.

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The VIP Admission cost is $40, which includes preferred seating, pre-film wine and cheese, “Meet the Filmmaker” reception at 6:30 pm, post-film Q&A and dessert reception. The General Admission cost is $20, which includes a post-film Q&A and dessert reception.

Below are some reviews about this critically acclaimed documentary film:

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“MAGNIFICENT, swelling from hushed to howling without the help of narration or posturing from the unfailingly dignified Ms. Peagler or her quietly dedicated lawyers. There may well be, as one of her lawyers claims, ‘thousands and thousands of Debbies across the U.S.,’ but it is this particular one who makes it difficult to leave the theater with dry eyes and an untouched heart.”
-The New York Times CRITICS’ PICK

“HARROWING, MOVING AND INSPIRING…”
-The Washington Post

“A MUST-SEE MOVIE.”
-The Los Angeles Times

“THIS RIVETING AND DEVASTATING DOCUMENTARY follows the sustained efforts of two land-use attorneys who decide to take on the case of a woman incarcerated for years due to her role in the death of an abusive boyfriend. It relates a great miscarriage of justice—but also one of heroic legal perseverance, with a surprisingly colorful cast of characters.”
-New York Magazine CRITICS’ PICK

Underwriting and sponsorship opportunities are still available. For more information about our Crime After Crime event or underwriting opportunities, please contact Cheryl Bruser at (858) 637-3322 or cherylb@jfssd.org.

For additional information about the Jewish Family Service’s Project SARAH program, please visit www.jfssd.org/projectsarah.

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