“All I saw before me was acres of skin. It was like a farmer seeing a fertile field for the first time.”
Dr. Albert Kligman, on his reaction to seeing Holmesburg Prison
Thousands of incarcerated people and their families have been affected by more than two decades of nonconsensual, unregulated medical experimentation at Philadelphia's Holmesburg Prison.
The experiments paid about $5, led to multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical products such as Retin-A (tretinoin), and left the men and some women who took part with physical and mental scars that lasted the rest of their lives.
Their stories remain largely untold. We are seeking support to help bring them to light.
About the Film
Herbert Rice, a survivor of the experiments, pauses for a moment while visiting Holmesburg Prison for the first time since his incarceration there.
Acres of Skin is a feature-length documentary about the survivors of the Holmesburg Prison experiments, a decades-long program in which the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Albert Kligman used incarcerated men and women in Philadelphia as human test subjects for pharmaceuticals, chemicals, viruses, experimental surgeries and other dangerous substances without meaningful informed consent.
While Kligman, Penn, and corporate partners such as Johnson & Johnson profited enormously, including from the development of Retin-A (tretinoin), the prisoners were paid only a few dollars and left with lifelong physical and psychological harm.
Through the voices of the experiments’ survivors, their families, and those who helped expose the abuse, we’ll tell the story of the Holmesburg Prison experiments and follow three families that still feel the impact today.
Watch The Trailer
What do we have so far?
We have filmed exclusive interviews and verité scenes with survivors of the prison experiments and their families.
What’s Next?
Our goal is to raise approximately $580,000 in order to cover the costs of production, post production, distribution and marketing.
Get Involved
Acres of Skin is a fiscally sponsored project of the International Documentary Association (IDA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization. Tax-deductible contributions in support of the film are made through IDA and administered by IDA in accordance with its fiscal sponsorship program.
Why now?
On May 19, 2026, Dorothy Alston passed away at the age of 90. She was the last confirmed female survivor of The University of Pennsylvania’s experimentation program, and one of the many survivors that did not live to see justice in their lifetime. Without our interview in August 2025, there would be no filmed first-hand accounts of the tampon test and experimental uterus biopsies that were conducted on women in Philadelphia’s House of Correction (a sister program to the testing done at Holmesburg).
Her passing emphasizes why we are making this documentary now: we want the survivors to see justice in their lifetime, and with most in their 70s and 80s, we do not have much longer.
When we consider similar stories of medical abuse - The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments or the unauthorized use of Henrietta Lacks’ cells – there is typically some form of reparations. The US Government paid survivors and families of the Tuskegee Experiments in 1974. Henrietta Lack’s descendants received multiple out of court settlements with biotech and pharmaceutical companies beginning in 2023. It is only a matter of time before the victims of the Holmesburg Prison Experiments receive some form of reparations, and our documentary will be there to follow that continued fight for justice.
Dorothy Alston during our interview in August 2025.
Meet the Team
Our team is dedicated to making sure the survivors and their families have a voice in the story of this film. In doing so, we’ve partnered with the Jones Foundation for Returning Citizens. This nonprofit is run by the families of the survivors of the Holmesburg Prison Experiments, and dedicated to restorative justice for communities impacted by the criminal justice system.
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Producer
Ja’Ir Henderson Da’Ron Rice is a studio technician, G&E, cinematographer, producer, writer, and IMC specialist living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He serves as the media specialist and graphic designer at the Jones Foundation for Returning Citizens. As the grandson of Herbert Rice, a victim of the Holmesburg Prison Experiments, Rice is committed to spreading awareness through his creative work and activism.
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Producer
Sam is a Los Angeles based producer from New Jersey. His background is in Film, TV, and Commercial development and production. He got his start working for line producers on commercials and studio television shows such as Apple TV’s For All Mankind and the HBOMax Original Hacks. In 2023, he co-founded the production company Pizza Bagel Studios, where he (Jewish; the ‘bagel’) and business partner Anthony DiMaria (Italian; the ‘pizza’) bridge the gap between creativity and logistics for artists and brands. Sam has produced national commercials, top charting music videos, Webby Award winning web series, Academy Award qualifying festival accepted short films, and the feature film Killer Rental, which can be streamed on Screambox TV and Amazon Prime.
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Cinematographer
Maria Raad is a cinematographer from Beirut, Lebanon. Through her work, she strives to capture beauty amidst chaos. After receiving a BFA in Film from Syracuse University, and a certificate of 35mm filmmaking from FAMU (Czech Republic), she participated in the American Film Institute’s 2023 Cinematography Intensive for Women and completed the IATSE Local 600 loader training.
She is currently based in Brooklyn, NY.
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Jones Foundation for Returning Citizens, Inc. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to restorative justice, healing, and education for communities impacted by incarceration. Its flagship work, the Holmesburg Prison Experiments Restorative Justice Initiative, uplifts the voices of survivors and families through public education, student partnerships, and advocacy for meaningful redress. The Foundation is led by founder and Chief Survivor Liaison Adrianne Jones-Alston, eldest daughter of Holmesburg survivor Leodus Jones, whose lived experience as a returning citizen bridges survivors, families, students, and institutions to ensure accountability, healing, and justice remain at the center of every collaboration.
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Producer/Director
Ryan Doody is the Director of Development at Resilient Content, a production company under Sony Pictures Television Nonfiction. With a background in cinematography, he also produces and shoots short-form content through his LLC, Heavy Doody Media. His client work includes Mizuno, the Zachor Holocaust Remembrance Foundation, John Legend’s Get Lifted Film Co., and UCLA, along with short films and music videos for independent artists.