| Aug. 26, 2008 CONTACT: Dr. Leigh Browning, associate professor of mass communication and director of
broadcasting, 806-651-2412, lbrowning@wtamu.edu COPY BY: Rana McDonald, 806-651-2129, rmcdonald@wtamu.edu WTAMU to Screen Tulia, Texas Documentary CANYON, Texas—In July 1999, reporters and camera crews from across the country flocked to the small town of Tulia to cover the biggest drug sting in Texas history, and on Friday, Sept. 19, the West Texas A&M University Guest Artist Series will share that story with the Panhandle’s first screening of the documentary Tulia, Texas. The documentary, produced and directed by Cassandra Herrman and Kelly Whalen of Los Angeles, Calif., will be featured in a public screening at 7 p.m. in the University’s Branding Iron Theatre. Don Stokes, president of the Texas Motion Picture Alliance, will talk about films in the state of Texas, and a panel of experts will conduct a question-and-answer session following the documentary’s screening. Panelists will include the documentary’s two producers, Royal Brantley, professor of art and head of the WTAMU Department of Art, Theatre and Dance, and Claudia Stuart, instructor of criminal justice and sociology. A select group from the University’s Attebury Honors Program will participate, and Dr. Leigh Browning, associate professor of mass communication and director of broadcasting, will moderate. “This is a powerful, powerful film about a story that happened just down the road from us,” Browning said. “It shows the beauty of the Texas Panhandle and tells a story about life in a small town. It also shows the injustice of racism in the fight against drugs.” Producers Herrman and Whalen got involved in the Tulia story several years after many of the accused were serving stiff sentences in Texas prisons. They were interested in the racism aspect of the story as well as the convictions handed down in the 1999 drug sting. Their film offers viewers a glimpse of the town, the lawmen and the accused in a character-driven format. Their goal was to make the film an intimate portrait of the small Texas town with a legal thriller edge to it. “We wanted to bring the film here, where we could exchange ideas and talk about a difficult topic in a safe place,” Browning said. “The campus setting is appropriate for a film like this as we all try to grapple with life’s issues.” The screening, supported by the Texas Motion Picture Alliance and Holiday Inn Select of Canyon, is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Browning at 806-651-2412 or visit www.tuliatexasfilm.com. —WTAMU— | 
