Indie Documentary of the Day: ‘Tucson Salvage’

The documentary Tucson Salvage is a meditation on five humans living on the margins in Tucson, Arizona, inspired by the Tucson Weekly column and collection by Brian Jabas Smith.

By combining raw, evocative imagery and the undiluted voices of her subjects, first-time director Maggie Smith has created an intimate, unflinching look at stories rarely seen on the big screen – as much about fighting as suffering, transcending as falling prey to pain.

All five individuals – man, woman, and trans persons – have suffered at the hands of traditional society and been pushed to escape the mental and physical imprisonment of their bodies, their attitudes, and their spirits.

Some are ex-cons and recovered junkies, but none are passive victims. Gritty and emotionally challenging, Tucson Salvage brings you close to people not usually seen or valued in society, and in doing so holds a mirror to us all.

Maggie Smith is a writer, filmmaker, mother, and human rights activist. She has spent her life nurturing and bringing to light the beauty of those around her with words, films and actions.

Smith graduated from Northwestern University in 2000 and continued her education through the University of Virginia and Cal State Los Angeles as well as the VW Vanagons, work trucks and early morning subways of Chicago, Asheville, and Los Angeles.

A member of the WGA, Smith has adapted, co-written and executive-produced the short story collection Spent Saints into a twelve-episode web series, as well as co-written and directed a documentary based upon the humanist column Tucson Salvage. Her forthcoming novel, The Most Incredible Wings, will hit stores in 2019.