In 2011 the body of Shelly "Treasure" Hilliard was found piece by piece across the city of Detroit. As a trans teen, it was assumed that Hilliard's death was the result of a hate crime.
However, during her trial, it was revealed that Hilliard, who sometimes did sex work, was an informant to the drug dealers who murdered her. After being threatened with jail time in a men's prison, she agreed to entrap her marijuana dealer. During the dealer's arrest, police officers revealed Hilliard's name as their inside source.
Treasure is about the community that Hilliard was a part of, one of activists and friends with roots at The Ruth Ellis Center outside of Detroit, where they received support, counseling, and training to lead social justice workshops.
Watch the trailer below.
Treasure was shown at the L.A. Film Festival and is currently being screened selectively.
