A film about the life of a young graffiti artist who died after a Miami Beach officer shot him with a Taser is coming to a Miami theater with special screenings this weekend.
"Reefa" is about Israel "Reefa" Hernandez, the 18-year-old who died in August 2013 after the fatal police encounter.
Police had spotted Hernandez spraying graffiti on an abandoned building and an officer shot him with the Taser during a foot chase. He died a short time later at the hospital.
The Miami-Dade medical examiner determined Hernandez died of heart failure from energy device discharge, authorities said. Hernandez's probable manner of death was listed as an accident, and the officer who deployed the Taser wasn't criminally charged.
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"Reefa" was directed by Jessica Kavana Dornbusch and stars Tyler Dean Flores, Clara McGregor, Cinthya Carmona, Margarita Rosa de Francisco, and José Zúñiga.
The film will be playing at MDC's Tower Theater Miami as part of the Miami Film Festival, with a special red carpet screening Thursday, and a special Saturday screening with Dornbusch, Flores and McGregor.
For more information, visit the Miami Film Festival's website.
