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MCFF Feature – The State of Texas vs. Melissa – Sat 3PM – Maine Premiere
July 24, 2021 @ 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
The State of Texas vs. Melissa, from director Sabrina Van Tassel, explores the life journey of Melissa Lucio, the first Hispanic woman to be sentenced to death in the state of Texas. For over ten years she has been awaiting her fate, and now faces her last appeal. No one had ever seen Melissa be violent towards her children, yet she was blamed for the daily abuse and subsequent death of her two year-old daughter, who died from blunt head trauma. Set in the heart of the Latino community of South Texas, the film takes a look at Melissa’s broken childhood, her adult life plagued by poverty and prejudice, and the miscarriage of justice Melissa faced, from the court appointed attorney who willingly set aside evidence, to the District attorney who used her case to help his re-election. The State of Texas vs. Melissa is the portrait of a woman’s fight against an entire system.
Running Time: 1 hour, 39 minutes
Sabrina Van Tassel is an award winning film director and a journalist. She has directed over 45 documentary films in the last 15 years for major television documentary programs. Focusing mainly on social matters in the United States, such as under age sex trafficking, children in the white nationalist movement, school bullying and women on death row.
Simultaneously, she has been directing award winning feature documentaries: “Married for Worse” (2004) exploring the world of two young women forced into marriage, “Shalom India” (2008) about young Israeli soldiers in India, recently discharged from the army, “Rivka’s Tribe” (2010) the amazing tale of six brothers and sisters surviving the Holocaust in France and “The Silenced Walls” (2015) her first documentary theatrically released. Critically acclaimed by the French press, it told her journey to discover the history of the Drancy camp, the biggest internment camp, turned into a social housing building at the end of the war.
“The State of Texas vs. Melissa” tells the story of the first Hispanic woman sentenced to death in Texas.
Thank you to all our business partners for sponsoring Year 2 of the MidCoast Film Fest.
For a complete list, please visit midcoastfilmfest.org.
Please note – all ticket sales are final – nonexchangeable and nontransferable.