House of Renewed Hope, the non-profit private investigator agency founded by Dallas County exoneree and 2012 Texan of the Year, Christopher Scott, is featured in FREEDOM FIGHTERS, a new documentary by Stanford University professor and filmmaker, Jamie Meltzer. A ten-minute excerpt of the film-in-progress will be shown, followed by a brief Q&A, at Dallas VideoFest 26 on Saturday, October 12, 2013, at 12:30 p.m. CDT at the Alamo Drafthouse, Theater 2, located at 100 South Central Expressway, #14, Richardson, Texas 75080.
The 30-minute event will precede the screening of AN UNREAL DREAM: THE MICHAEL MORTON STORY, a film featuring Mr. Scott’s co-Texan of the Year, Michael Morton. The two screenings are separate events, however, FREEDOM FIGHTERS ticket holders will be able to enter the latter screening at no additional cost. Tickets are $8 per person and can be purchased online at https://www.eventbrite.com/event/8398440963. Attendees are encouraged to arrive at least ten minutes prior to the screening.
“Reporter Michael May, who wrote a Texas Observer piece on the Dallas exonerees, called me up and told me about this new detective agency started by several exonerees in Dallas, and I was immediately hooked. I loved the idea of approaching the issue of wrongful conviction from a completely fresh vantage point. That Chris Scott, Johnnie Lindsey, and a few other exonerees had decided to start a detective agency just seemed like an amazing and novel concept, one of those things that just makes perfect sense –who better than them, right? But also it makes one do a double take and wonder: How is this going to turn out? I grew up loving film noir and detective films, I see this film as a sort of documentary detective film.”
“We are excited that local audiences will get a sneak peek of this film at VideoFest,” said
Christopher Scott, founder and chief executive officer (CEO), House of Renewed Hope. “When Jamie
approached us about doing a documentary, we felt honored that people wanted to highlight our efforts totry and help other wrongfully convicted men and women prove their actual innocence. So for the past
year and a half, we have opened House of Renewed Hope’s doors to the film crew and allowed them to capture us in both professional and personal settings. When FREEDOM FIGHTERS is complete, I am hopeful that its release will shine a light on the widespread issue of wrongful convictions and how they can be prevented in the future.”
Christopher Shun Scott was wrongly convicted of capital murder in 1997, sentenced to life in prison and served nearly 13 years of that sentence before he was proven actually innocent and officially exonerated in 2009 for a crime he did not commit. After his release from prison, in 2011 Mr. Scott founded House of Renewed Hope to assist other individuals who are believed to have been wrongfully
convicted and remain incarcerated in Texas. As a result of his commitment to give back to the community and his proactive leadership in the fight against wrongful convictions, he was named 2012 Texan of the Year by the Dallas Morning News. Mr. Scott works with an investigative team comprised of fellow wrongfully convicted men, Johnnie Lindsey, who served 26 years and Steven Phillips, who served 25 years, for crimes they did not commit.
House of Renewed Hope is a non-profit private investigator agency focused on investigating claims of innocence, educating the public and seeking legislative reforms to address and prevent wrongful convictions. Licensed attorneys supervise the work of the exonerees and the organization is served by a voluntary board of directors. For more information about House of Renewed Hope, please visit www.houseofrenewedhope.org
