Los Angeles-based immigration attorney Judy Wood is getting the biopic treatment in a new film starring Michelle Monaghan.
In “Saint Judy”, Monaghan stars as the 30-something Wood who argued what would become a landmark case in the U.S. for women seeking asylum. The film follows Wood as she moves to L.A., committing herself to immigration cases with focus on asylum seekers.
In one of her very first cases, Wood represented an Afghan immigrant who has been persecuted in her home country for opening a school for girls and faced certain death on her return. In taking – and winning – the case, Wood successfully changed the law for a female asylum seeker in the U.S., allowing women to be designated as a protected class, saving the lives of countless women who would be sentenced to death if they returned to their home country.
The film co-stars Leem Lubany as her client Asefa and features Common, Alfre Woodard and Alfred Molina in supporting roles.
“Saint Judy” does not yet have a Canadian distributor or release date at this time.
