Acres of Skin

Acres of Skin is a 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, and other dangerous substances without meaningful informed consent. While Kligman, Penn, and corporate partners profited enormously, including from the development of Retin-A, the prisoners were paid only a few dollars and left with lifelong physical and psychological harm. Through the voices of aging survivors, their families, and those who helped expose the abuse, the film traces how this exploitation was made possible by racism, poverty, and institutional power, and follows the survivors’ urgent fight for recognition, reparations, and justice before their stories are lost.