::: Sprout Film Festival 2005 :::

/78 min. / Documentary
/2005 / USA

Borderline tells the story of Eunice Baker, a borderline mentally retarded woman who was sentenced to 15 years to life for murdering a young child, despite evidence that the death was accidental. After nearly 5 years in prison, The NY State Appellate Court reduced Eunice's sentence to criminally negligent homicide, and she was released on time served.

This film follows Eunice's story from her initial trial to her ultimate release, focusing on her family's struggle to defend her despite poverty and the hardships of their own mental disabilities.

Borderline focuses attention on how mentally handicapped individuals are treated by the legal system across the nation, especially in rural communities and small towns. With more than 4% of the national prison population considered mentally retarded, this issue, which has been overlooked for decades, is only now gaining the national recognition it deserves. Ultimately, the film proves that the legal system, while seriously flawed, has the potential to right itself and correct injustice.

Slawomir Grunberg - filmmaker

Slawomir Grunberg is a documentary producer, director, cameraman, and editor whose work has frequently appeared on PBS. He received an Emmy Award for his first P.O.V. presentation, "School Prayer: A Community at War". He is a graduate of the prestigious Polish Film School in Lodz, Poland and emigrated from Poland to the US in 1981. He has since shot and produced over 40 television documentaries. His independent works focus on critical social and political issues and have won him international recognition. Slawomir has also been a contributing director of photography and editor for the PBS' series: Frontline, NOVA, American Masters, AIDS Quarterly with Peter Jennings, Health Quarterly, People's Century, Lifetime Channel and HBO.