Incarcerated people at Sing Sing prison in N.Y. to judge docs at new film festival

As It Happens6:28Incarcerated people at Sing Sing prison in N.Y. to judge docs at new film festival

Lawrence Bartley says his new upcoming film festival will put a unique critical eye on film documentaries about prisons and policing — because its judges will be incarcerated people.

"It brings authenticity," says Bartley, organizer of the Sing Sing Film Festival, which is based in and will also include screenings and panel discussions at the New York State maximum security prison of the same name.

"I was incarcerated for some time. And I watch those, I say 'nah, this wouldn't happen,'" he said of popular TV shows like CSI or Law & Order. "They wouldn't just unveil surprise evidence like that. Or, that piece of evidence is not indicative of of of guilt or innocence," he told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.

For the upcoming festival, Bartley and the festival co-organizers selected a jury of five judges from people currently incarcerated in Sing Sing. They will review five documentary films that depict policing and prisons, and then choose a winner out of that group. All films must be approved by New York State's Department of Correction.

The winner will be announced on October 24, during a festival awards night that will also show a program of short films and feature a panel of filmmakers and the judges. The ceremony will be filmed at Sing Sing, including an audience of 75 incarcerated men at the prison as well as some Marshall Project guests, and broadcast online later that month.

The festival is organized by The Marshall Project, a U.S.-based non-profit news organization that covers the U.S. criminal justice system. Bartley is publisher of The Marshall Project Inside, a publication that includes a newsletter distributed to incarcerated people in jails and prison in the U.S. and Canada.

Sing Sing gained international attention earlier this year with a film of the same name that put a spotlight on the prison and its prisoner-led theatre company, RTA, Rehabilitation Through the Arts — starring actors who went through the program itself.

The CBC's film critic Eli Glasner called the film a "must-see" that is "nothing less than a testament to the transformational power of art."

New film Sing Sing shines a light on healing power of prison theatre programs

4 months ago

Duration 3:07

The new film Sing Sing is shining a light on prison theatre programs and how acting and directing behind bars can enrich prisoners' lives and even help prevent recidivism.

According to the New York-based non-profit news site Gothamist, inmates learned about film criticism during classes with filmmaker El Sawyer, who spent time himself in prison in his 20s and learned how to make films while behind bars.

Among other films, the judges watched Sawyer's own documentary Pull of Gravity, which follows formerly incarcerated people's journeys integrating back to life after prison.

Part of the festival's objective, Bartley told Köksal, is to find people who may not have already been go-to speakers and representatives of the RTA program and give them the chance to develop new skills in the arts.

Bartley added he hopes that the unique perspective of Sing Sing's judges will one day be held in wider regard among the industry.

"[A film] might make the regular circuit in a big film festival, but [the director might] feel like the film is incomplete unless it gets a stamp of approval from an incarcerated jury. Because this is about criminal justice, they can make sure that it is authentic," he said.

Even before the festival's debut, he says it reaped benefits for those involved.

"They felt like this was like an opportunity of a lifetime. And not only for them, for their family members as well, to see that they're doing something positive," he said.

He said that learning skills like film criticism could open up new career opportunities for inmates once they're released, as often formerly incarcerated people have few choices other than social service jobs.

"It could be monumental. It could be career building for the men when they get out," he said. That's going to be generationally transformational for the children, for the children's children. And it could pay some huge dividends."