The Prison Within(2020)

Visions of Abolition: From Critical Resistance to a New Way of Life(en)

Weaving together the voices of women entangled in the criminal justice system, along with leading scholars on prison abolition, this film provides a critical analysis of the disfunctionality and violence of the prison system.

The Condemned(en)

With unprecedented access, this documentary looks into the hidden world of one of Russia's most impenetrable and remote institutions - a maximum security prison exclusively for murderers. Deep inside the land of the gulags, this is the end of the line for some of Russia's most dangerous criminals - 260 men who have collectively killed nearly 800 people. The film delves deep into the mind and soul of some of these prisoners. In brutally frank and uncensored interviews the inmates speak of their crimes, life and death, redemption and remorselessness, insanity and hope. The film tracks them though their unrelenting days over several months, lifting the veil on one of Russia's most secretive subcultures to reveal what happens when a man is locked up in a tiny cell for 23 hours every day, for life. A startling insight into inscrutable minds and the forbidding world they have been condemned to. (Storyville)

Chasing Bonnie & Clyde(en)

'Don't build prisons, they cost too much!' In this era of Great Recession, the conservative and tough-on-crime State of Texas takes an unprecedented path by becoming a social justice leader with programs that rehabilitate offenders. Looks like rape, abuse and death are no longer parts of the solution for modern-day Bonnie and Clyde...

Indictment: The Crimes of Shelly Chartier(en)

Sensationalized in the media as a high profile catfishing case involving an NBA superstar and an aspiring model, Shelly Chartier was portrayed as a master manipulator who used social media as her weapon. Through the sensitive and intelligent lens of Indigenous directors Lisa Jackson and Shane Belcourt, the sensationalism is swept aside to reveal something much more compelling and complex - the story of a young woman caught in historical circumstances beyond her control and how she struggles to rebuild her life after incarceration.

The Big One(en)

The Big One is an investigative documentary from director Michael Moore who goes around the country asking why big American corporations produce their product abroad where labor is cheaper while so many Americans are unemployed, losing their jobs, and would happily be hired by such companies as Nike.

Blue Room(en)

Incarcerated participants in a mental health experiment watch videos of sunset-soaked beaches, wildflowers and forests on loop, prompting them to reflect on isolation and wilderness. Equal parts meditation and provocation, Blue Room identifies the damage done by withholding access to the outdoors and how we are all prisoners when the essential human need for communion with nature is denied.

The Engine Inside(en)

Six individuals from diverse backgrounds embrace cycling as a way to overcome daunting personal and systemic challenges. Through these struggles, bicycles have the potential to transform lives and contribute to a better world.

Blessed be the Joint(pt)

In the midst of conservative politics in the city of Goiânia, an anti-prohibitionist collective mobilizes for the legalization of marijuana against government repression.

Met While Incarcerated(en)

Documentary about the love stories of 3 prison wives seeking grace for the violent offenders they love.

Fresh Start: A Marcus Harvin Story(en)

“Fresh Start: A Marcus Harvin Story” presents an intimate portrayal of Marcus Harvin’s journey as he transcends his past to make a profound impact on the lives of those around him. The documentary offers a rare glimpse into Marcus’s daily life, capturing his heartfelt mission to share not only food but also compassion through his innovative non-profit organization, Fresh Start. Through candid interviews with key figures in Marcus’s life, including Stephanie Harvin, Babatunde Akinjobi, and Bradley Woodworth, the film illuminates Marcus’s unwavering determination and the vital support system that has helped him achieve his dreams. Viewers are invited to follow Marcus for a day, witnessing his dream project in action—an extraordinary restaurant concept where the only payment required is one’s presence.

In Paradisum(et)

In Paradisum relates two disturbing stories simultaneously. The female narrator tells her personal tale of imprisonment as the wife of the notorious Estonian serial killer, Andreas Hanni. Although her story is bizarre, it touches familiar themes that run throughout modern life: the desire to be loved and the fear of being alone. Pille Hanni's tale unfolds over cinema vérité images of life in several Estonian prisons. At times the images reflect in a literary way the events of the narration, yet they are representations and impressions, rather than traditional documentary style footage of the people involved. This opens the story to a more general interpretation, often with unsettling results. The parallel contents reveal, at two levels of story and social organisation, how the bizarre and inhuman can be tolerable and even addictive in the face of our fears.

Wrong Fellows(nl)

Documentary about four maffia-like friends based in Amsterdam.

El Almafuerte(es)

The youngsters housed in the "Almafuerte" Maximum Security Juvenile Institute have their first approach to audiovisual recording. A film and documentary video workshop serves as an excuse for them to make a short film inside the prison. The camera is a rabid toy that generates fascination in them and rescues a sheltered, innocent smile that seemed forgotten under the shadows. While inside libertarian cries bounce against the walls, outside sounds fanfares of an iron fist.

Rompamos con el maltrato(es)

Sag mir, wo du stehst(de)

Stereotypy(es)

Animal captivity is a human decision. An apparently invisible but in the eyes of anyone behavioral pattern, calls into question the deprivation of freedom through a paranoid choreography.

Standard Operating Procedure(en)

Errol Morris examines the incidents of abuse and torture of suspected terrorists at the hands of U.S. forces at the Abu Ghraib prison.

Afro-American Work Songs in a Texas Prison(en)

Pete and Toshi Seeger, their son Daniel, and folklorist Bruce Jackson visited a Texas prison in Huntsville in March of 1966 and produced this rare document of of work songs by inmates of the Ellis Unit. Worksongs helped African American prisoners survive the grueling work demanded of them. With mechanization and integration, worksongs like these died out shortly after this film was made.

We Want the Airwaves(en)

Hollywood is perhaps the most elusive animal. "We Want the Airwaves" follows three first time TV makers who set out on the ultimate adventure: to change television as we know it. The trio creates, films and pitches their advocacy docuseries masterpiece, "Manifesto!" all over the world, with the goal of giving a broadcast voice to a generation.

The Final Year(en)

Featuring unprecedented access inside the White House and State Department, The Final Year offers an uncompromising view of the inner workings of the Obama Administration as they prepare to leave power after eight years.