Behind Bars: Docs About Prison
Prison can be the end of the road for some inmates, but for others prison life can be a transforming experience. These three docs are centered around different prison programs to help inmates to be productive and ready to enter life outside prison walls.
“Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo”
Directed by Bradley Beesley, this doc focuses on a special program of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary where inmates get to participate in a rodeo. The women in the film have unique stories that unfold as they train to compete in the rodeo.
The Shakespeare Behind Bars Program at Kentucky’s Luther Luckett Correctional Complex lets inmates participate in The Tempest. The themes of the play weigh heavy on the participants as they rehearse their lines and think about the crimes that they have committed.
The maximum security prison at Angola, Louisiana has a program where inmates can apply to provide hospice care for dying inmates. As they care for other inmates, often older than themselves, they take a glimpse into their future and look back at the life they’ve lived.
