Emperors of Nothing is an unprecedented immersion within Forest, a prison in Brussels notorious for its inhumane incarceration conditions, bearing witness to how the human spirit resists or submits to this harsh world. Deeply personal and candid moments shared with inmates and wardens alike, those who have forfeited or devoted their lives to prison, expose universal truths of what it means to be "behind bars".
In a mix of 2D animation and live action, through their voices and acting, two actresses recount the lives of imprisoned women that opposed the Russian Regime and their emotional stories of suffering and anguish.
The lives of the late Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar and Lorraine, one of her daughters, and the community of Bradford, in the 30 years since the 18-year-old Andrea penned a play about growing up in the community titled "The Arbor".
Impressionistic glimpses of London life from early morning to rush hour.
While locked-up for six years in federal prison, artist Jesse Krimes secretly creates monumental works of art—including an astonishing 40-foot mural made with prison bed sheets, hair gel, and newspaper. He smuggles out each panel piece-by-piece with the help of fellow artists, only seeing the mural in totality upon coming home. As Jesse's work captures the art world's attention, he struggles to adjust to life outside, living with the threat that any misstep will trigger a life sentence.
A father killed his son. In a state of alcoholic delirium, a young man murdered his friend. A 21 year-old boy shot a policeman. Faced with their death sentence, they tell about what happens with them at the moment when they are between death and ... death.
The film explores the destruction of a unique train station in Zurich and the construction of the new prison and police centre in its place. From the perspective of the filmmaker’s window, and with testimony from prisoners awaiting deportation, the film probes how we deal with the extinction of history and its replacement with total security.
The St. Valentine's Day massacre is the stuff of American legend, and the tale is familiar to nearly everyone. But the story of that bloody day in Chicago has never been told, or seen, like this before. Cutting-edge graphics and frenetic recreations accompany Johnny Fratto, son of onetime Al Capone-associate Louis "Lew" Fratto, back to Chicago, where he uncovers massacre myths and learns more about the life his father and uncles led when they roamed those lawless streets in the 1920s. Johnny gets guidance and opinions from a team of renowned Chicago gangster experts, and bridges the gap between the stories he heard as a little boy and the reality he lived growing up in a mob family. Johnny's take about what happened on Feb. 14, 1929 will surprise you.
Panics, orchestrated crises, media hype and propaganda have been used in the name of “protecting the people” for generations. CNN, the Southern Poverty Law Center and other media outlets air special reports and name call anyone who questions the government as conspiracy theorists in an effort to suppress information. Yet, with the de-classification of decades-old documents, it can be found that many of these “conspiracy theories” are not so theoretical after all. This film takes a look at the government and media manipulation of an unwitting public, and plans that have been laid out through legislation, Executive Orders and Presidential Directives that pave the way for the elimination of many, if not all, of our most basic rights. Enemy of The State: Camp FEMA Part 2 thrashes out the mission of a police state and the implementation of martial law.
Told through the charismatic voice of inmate Kenneth Reams, Free Men is a film about human resilience. In solitary confinement for the last 25 years, Kenneth has pushed back the walls of his cell to become a painter, a poet, the founder of a non-profit, and an art event organizer - while fighting at the same time for justice. At age 18, Kenneth Reams was convicted for capital murder without firing a bullet. He became the youngest inmate on Arkansas death row. Alongside art, the film shows how love can cross barbed wire and the length of an ocean in Kenneth's love for Isabelle, a French artist who wants to become his wife.
Capturing the early recording process of the compilation album “Prison Songs: Nyanyian yang Dibungkam”, this film is a collaborative work of Komunitas Taman 65 Bali, archiving history through dialogue with composers and people knowledgeable with the songs of Pekambingan penitentiary, Denpasar.
Over the past decade Australia’s prison population has doubled. But of all the States, it’s Western Australia that has the highest number of prisoners per population. Casuarina, Western Australia’s Maximum Security Prison, is designed for 360 inmates. It currently houses almost double that. For the first time ever, our cameras go inside Casuarina Prison to witness life behind bars in an Australian Super Max.
A documentary from within the Swedish Migration Board's locked repository where people are in custody awaiting forced deportation. Prisoner and guard are in close proximity around the clock. Converses during sleepless nights and playing football during hot summer days. We follow Sophie, 29, who loves her job at the repository, Sami, 20, the young rebel who is locked up but free inside, and Aina, 47, who were separated from her children and kept locked up while the police are stepping up efforts to enforce their expulsion order.
Lucky Number addresses the world of compulsive gamblers. Topics include who these individuals are, what drives them to gamble, the consequences of compulsive gambling, and treatments available to them. Interviews with gamblers, various experts (such as professors), and major individuals (such as Pete Rose and Brian Maloney) are also present.
A compelling look at the choices that lead to incarceration and the reality of being locked up in Pelican Bay State Prison.
Twenty years after he helped put Jon Buice in a Texas prison, Ray Hill is fighting to free him. Filmed over eight years, The Guy With the Knife traces the history of the friendship between a prominent gay rights activist and a convicted 'gay bash' murderer, set against the backdrop of gay rights, victims' rights, and prisoners' rights, in the harsh Texas justice system.
Turn off the alarms and throw away the keys as these two comics set the inmates of Arizona State Prison rolling with laughter.
One of the world’s greatest ancient enigmas, the Nazca lines are a dense network of criss-crossing lines, geometric shapes, and animal figures etched across 200 square miles of Peruvian desert. Who created them and why? Ever since they were discovered in the 1920s, scholars and enthusiasts have raised countless theories about their purpose. Now, archaeologists have discovered hundreds of long-hidden lines and figures as well as evidence of ancient rituals, offering new clues to the origins and motivations behind the giant desert symbols.
The film focuses on Ernesto Rossi (1897 – 1967), who was imprisoned by the fascist regime between 1930 and 1943 for his political ideas. Exiled on the island of Ventotene, he co-authored the Ventotene manifesto.
A convicted felon builds a feminist movement from behind bars at an all-male prison in Soledad, California.