9500 Liberty (2010)

92% of critics liked it
(12 reviews)
80% of users liked it
(167 ratings)

Prince William County, Virginia becomes ground zero in America's explosive battle over immigration policy when elected officials adopt a law requiring police officers to question anyone they have "probable cause" to suspect is an undocumented immigrant. 9500 Liberty reveals the startling… More Prince William County, Virginia becomes ground zero in America's explosive battle over immigration policy when elected officials adopt a law requiring police officers to question anyone they have "probable cause" to suspect is an undocumented immigrant. 9500 Liberty reveals the startling vulnerability of a local government, targeted by national anti-immigration networks using the Internet to frighten and intimidate lawmakers and citizens.

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 22 min.
Directed By: Eric Byler, Annabel Park
Genres: Documentary, Drama, Special Interest

In Theaters: Apr 30, 2010 Wide
On DVD: Nov 28, 2011

Critic Reviews

Ty Burr, Boston Globe
9500 Liberty is not just about the clash of immigrant Hispanics and white nativists, but about what happens when a community's civic machinery is hijacked by ideologues and extremists -- and what exactly it takes for the silent center to push back.
Cary Darling, Dallas Morning News
A compelling glimpse of a community and, by extension, a country, in the throes of change.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Park and Byler began as objective documentarians who found this story being pressed upon them. They become advocates and are clear about that.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
The movie is such a polemic in favor of open immigration and such an attempt to demonize (through strategic cutting) the anti-immigration forces that it plays more like a propaganda piece.
Dennis Harvey, Variety
This engrossing documentary traces ugly repercussions in northern Virginia when a resolution is passed requiring cops to question anyone they have "probable cause" to suspect of being an illegal alien, a la Arizona's subsequent hot-button law.
Chris Faraone, Boston Phoenix
Notwithstanding that it's an anti-hate advocacy piece, this YouTube-spawned documentary gives plenty of voice to the depraved foot soldiers and their opportunistic enablers. It just so happens that they look like race-baiting rednecks ...
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
This homespun documentary offers an insightful look into one of the earliest eruptions of local acrimony over the issue of illegal immigration.
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
The movie allows all sides in the issues debated to state their cases, using their own words. If anyone is seen in a negative light, it's only because their words and actions condemn them.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
In other hands, in other times, it could have been a simple film that followed the democratic process... But Byler and Park saw their film growing organically in a new direction and went with it.
Charles Ealy, Austin American-Statesman
The release of the new documentary 9500 Liberty couldn't be more timely.
Desson Thomson, The Wrap
Most of us are good people when we're sitting around the dinner table. What happens to us as soon as we step up to the public podium?
Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle
What this film has in urgency and timeliness makes it a unique witness to our times.