The Marshall Project to Host First-Ever Sing Sing Prison Film Festival

5 finalists for the first-ever Sing Sing Movie Pageant award had been introduced as we speak by The Marshall Venture, the nonprofit newsroom protecting legal justice.

The award winner shall be introduced on Oct. 24 by a jury of 5 males incarcerated in Sing Sing jail in Ossining, New York, earlier than an viewers of incarcerated folks, New York state corrections officers and out of doors company.

The Marshall Venture is dedicated to offering information and data to incarcerated audiences. Together with the print journal Information Inside and video collection Inside Story, the Sing Sing Movie Pageant is a part of The Marshall Venture’s effort to convey helpful and recent views behind jail partitions.

The 5 documentary options on the shortlist are:

“It is a actual first in New York,” mentioned Lawrence Bartley of The Marshall Venture. “Legal justice movies haven’t historically been subjected to the judgment of people that actually know the system from the within.

“Incarcerated folks have related experience right here,” mentioned Bartley, who’s writer of The Marshall Venture Inside, the information merchandise for jail audiences produced by the Pulitzer Prize-winning newsroom. “The Marshall Venture organized this movie pageant as a result of we wished to acknowledge the worth and significance of this viewers.” Practically 2 million individuals are incarcerated in prisons and jails throughout America.

The 5 finalists had been chosen by Marshall Venture workers from amongst almost 40 legal justice documentaries launched within the final two years. The movies had been then reviewed by officers from the New York Division of Corrections and Group Supervision earlier than being submitted to the incarcerated jury of 5 males.

Documentary filmmaker El Sawyer visited Sing Sing in August to coach the jury on learn how to consider movies. He spent 5 hours with the boys at Sing Sing, discussing the finer factors of viewing and critiquing movies to judge the readability and energy of storytelling, cinematography and the movie’s authenticity in depicting the lived experiences of incarcerated and justice-impacted folks.

A program of brief movies will even be screened on the pageant on Oct. 24:

San Quentin Media Heart in a Field by Rahsaan Thomas

Sam and Omar by Nadav Kurtz

Inside Story — choices from the brand new season of The Marshall Venture’s tv present for incarcerated audiences

All supplies shall be submitted to the jury on DVD as a result of there isn’t a web in jail.

“Provided that my movie explores points inside our legal justice system, I’m grateful for this chance to contribute to a dialogue that’s each trustworthy and impactful,” mentioned Débora Souza Silva, director of For Our Youngsters. “I hope this initiative by The Marshall Venture’s Sing Sing Movie Pageant conjures up significant adjustments in legal justice reform and fosters a deeper reflection on how such points are documented.”

“Each movie I watch from right here on out, I’m going to be critiquing it … to see the event of the characters, to see if the surroundings is a personality within the film itself,” mentioned Alonzo Miles, a jury member incarcerated at Sing Sing.

“Sing Sing Correctional Facility is happy to supply a brand new academic alternative to our inhabitants of incarcerated people,” mentioned Sing Sing Superintendent Marlyn Kopp. “The possibility to be taught in regards to the artwork and methods of movie, to develop and draft critiques of the chosen legal justice-themed movies and choose a winner for the movie pageant gives worth to the opinions of the incarcerated people.

“It opens up communication with the boys inside and other people on the skin,” Kopp continued. “We’re glad to collaborate with The Marshall Venture and host this movie pageant.”

Please attain out to Rahima Nasa Kazmi at rkazmi@themarshallproject.org to be taught extra in regards to the Sing Sing Movie Pageant.