Pro Bono Net members and supporters have the opportunity to support us by purchasing the DVD of Golden Venture, an acclaimed documentary about the struggles of the 286 passengers of the infamous immigrant smuggling ship that ran aground near New York City in 1993.  For every DVD purchased, Pro Bono Net will receive half the proceeds. 

The seeds for what would become Pro Bono Net were sown when co-founders Michael Hertz and Mark O’Brien met while working on pro bono asylum cases resulting from the Golden Venture.  As the passengers were sent to detention facilities around the country, the need for a technological solution to enable collaboration among far-flung advocates became increasingly apparent.

The film, narrated by Academy Award winner Tim Robbins, was an Official Selection of the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival as well as the 2006 Amnesty International Film Festival.  Amnesty International called Golden Venture “a global epic, a story of stoic perseverance and unexpected grace, played out in the shadow of national politics and the continuing failure of ever-harsher US immigration policies.”

Director Peter Cohn was inspired to make the film when, four years after the Golden Venture ran aground, he learned that many of the passengers were still in jail.  Cohn followed four passengers, each of whom ends up following a different path after being imprisoned following the shipwreck.  “They survived the voyage, imprisonment and worse -- and went on to face more trials and heartbreak that doesn’t end,” Cohn says. “At the same time, they’ve been touched by amazing measures of grace.”

Pro Bono Net’s share of the proceeds from Golden Venture DVD sales will ensure we can continue to pursue our mission of increasing access to justice for all those in need.  At a time when demand for legal services is rising rapidly, our probono.net and LawHelp.org sites help empower those who serve to make a difference and those in need to improve their lives.  For more information or to purchase, click here.