LOS ANGELES – The Marijuana Conspiracy, will light up screens at the 35th Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) as it makes its U.S. premiere on Saturday, January 18, 2020 at the Fiesta Theater in Santa Barbara, CA. The cannabis-themed independent feature film, directed by Craig Pryce, is in competition at the festival and features an incredible up-and-coming cast including Morgan Kohan, Kyla Young, Luke Bilyk and established actress Marie Ward who will be on hand with the director at the official 4:20 PM premiere screening followed by a moderated Q&A.
THE MARIJUANA CONSPIRACY is an entertaining and compelling true-story based on a historic government-funded research project which set out to study the effects of marijuana on females. The then-controversial program was named “Project Venus,” and took place in the winter of 1972 in Toronto, Canada. Twenty women were selected from a pool of volunteers to participate in the paid study. The women were separated into two groups with a control group of ten women who were given no weed to smoke and the experimental group which was given marijuana to smoke every night with ever increasing THC levels. Both groups were held in total isolation for 98 days as the scientists studied the social and physical effects of marijuana on them. The film centers around five unique and inspiring female characters and has already been awarded the ReFrame Stamp for having met the defined criteria set for this honor and for demonstrating measurable progress towards delivering female-driven content.
“After researching this remarkable story on the bizarre and unethical experiments studying the effects of marijuana on females in Toronto 1972, I knew it would make for a fascinating movie,” said Craig Pryce, writer, director of The Marijuana Conspiracy. “I’m very excited to tell this true story that focuses on five young women and how they used their unique strengths, resilience and friendship to overcome adversity despite several agenda’s imposed on them during their 98 days in captivity.”
THE MARIJUANA CONSPIRACY focuses on the real experiences of the female participants, their interactions with one another and their reactions to the perilous and vaguely ridiculous circumstances in which they found themselves trapped. Many of the real-life subjects can verify the details outlined in this incredibly personal and timely film from Director Craig Pryce. Still fondly remembered for his cult classic THE REVENGE OF THE RADIOACTIVE REPORTER, Pryce has been busy working in film and TV and is now returning to his roots of independent cinema. This film features a diverse and powerful, mostly-female cast including Tymika Tafari (Murdoch Mysteries), Julia Sarah Stone (Honey Bee), Morgan Kohan (When Hope Calls), Brittany Bristow (Royal Matchmaker) , Kyla Young (Alias Grace) , Marie Ward (Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark) , Gregory Calderone (Heroes Reborn), Paulino Nunes (The Boys) and Luke Bilyk (DC’s Legend of Tomorrow). The film was produced by Jennifer Haufler and Craig Pryce and had its world premiere at the Whistler International Film Festival in December 2019.
“I can’t think of a better way to start 2020 than to have our film appear at the Santa Barbara Film Festival,” said Jennifer Haufler, Producer. “We are so glad we were able to find such a talented group of young actors and bring them together to share this incredible story with the world. We hope audiences will see how far we have gone as a society and just how much further we have left to go”.
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE: https://youtu.be/9UkDXdxru9M
THE MARIJUANA CONSPIRACY – SCREENINGS
- Saturday, January 18, 2020 – 4:20 PM – at the FIESTA – Theater 4
- Sunday, January 19, 2020 – 5:20 PM at the METRO – Theater 2
Each screening will be followed by a brief, moderated Q&A and will feature the director Craig Pryce and the following members of the CAST: Morgan Kohan, Kyla Young, Marie Ward and Luke Bilyk.
For more information about the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and to purchase tickets go to: https://sbiff.org
About the Film
Based on a true story that took place in the winter of 1972, directed by Craig Pryce, THE MARIJUANA CONSPIRACY is about a group of young women in Toronto, Canada, who took part in an outlandish scientific study that measured the effects of smoking Marijuana daily on females. Set up and paid for by a government with a manipulative agenda, this timely and poignant story takes audiences on a journey with these 5 young women as they look to smoke some pot, turn their lives around and earn some money along the way.
Social Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themaryjaneconspiracyfilm
Twitter: @MarijuanaFilm
Instagram: @marijuanaconspiracyfilm
#marijuanaconspiracyfilm
About ReFrame
The ReFrame Stamp, which was created by the group Women in Film Los Angeles and the Sundance Institute, and begun last year in conjunction with the industry site IMDbPro, the stamp is tabulated using an algorithm that awards points for film and television productions with women in key on- and offscreen jobs, and extra points for women of color. It basically amounts to a gold star, with a logo that can be added to a production’s end credits. ReFrame is a non-profit organization that employs a unique strategy, a peer-to-peer approach, in which ReFrame Ambassadors engage with senior, industry decision-makers at Partner Companies to implement ReFrame programs. For more information about the ReFrame Stamp, please go to: https://www.reframeproject.org
About SBIFF
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts and educational organization. Over the past 35 years, SBIFF has become one of the leading film festivals in the United States – attracting 95,000 attendees and offering 11 days of 200+ films, tributes, and panels, fulfilling their mission to engage, enrich, and inspire people through the power of film. They celebrate the art of cinema and provide impactful educational experiences for local, national and global communities. The 35th Annual SBIFF runs from January 15th to the 25th, 2020. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to: https://sbiff.org.
