HUDSON COUNTY — Integrity House and Kean University will host the exclusive New Jersey Premiere of the HBO documentary “Fall to Grace” on Tuesday at Kean University. A PR firm released the details late Friday.
They described the movie thusly:
A film depicting the personal journey of former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey from his admission that he is “a gay American” and his resignation as Governor, to his personal redemption as a spirituality advisor at the Integrity House program in the Hudson County jail. “Fall to Grace,” is produced by HBO and directed by Alexandra Pelosi, daughter of the former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and has received tremendous advance notice, including acceptance at the recent Sundance Film Festival.
At the Hudson County Correctional Center, McGreevey takes on the role as a spiritual advisor for up to 40 women who are taking part in a program that focuses on helping to reduce recidivism and reincarceration.
McGreevey’s very public resignation in 2004 sent him on a journey to find his “authentic self.” He turned to jailhouse ministering as an academic requirement for his Episcopal seminary training. Through the Hudson County Correctional Center, McGreevey found Integrity House, a nationally-recognized substance abuse rehabilitation center with locations in Newark and Secaucus, and their valuable mission to assist those in need to gain stability in their life and to break the grip of substance abuse.
In “Fall to Grace,” Pelosi follows McGreevey for 18 months to document his counseling efforts on the streets of Newark and Jersey City, and the poignant relationship that McGreevey has forged with “his ladies.” In so doing, the film brings attention to the necessity of addictions counseling programs in the country’s jails. The 48 minute documentary will air on HBO beginning March 28th.