Directed by Adamu Chan • Documentary • With Isabella Borgeson, Rahsaan Thomas, Lonnie Morris • 2023 • 43 minutes
Transcending the grim realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, Adamu Chan's powerful documentary, What These Walls Won't Hold, paints a poignant portrait of resilience and hope blossoming within the confines of San Quentin State Prison. Chan, formerly incarcerated himself, offers a unique insider's view as he weaves a tapestry of the many threads of relationships that bind together his community. The film delves into his own journey towards freedom, while simultaneously amplifying the voices of his fellow incarcerated and their loved ones on both sides of the prison walls.
What These Walls Won't Hold is not merely a chronicle of life behind bars; it's a powerful call to action. By showcasing the human spirit's boundless capacity for compassion and resistance, the film serves as an inspiring blueprint for a world where empathy and justice prevail.
Up Next in Crime & Punishment
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My Worst Enemy
Directed by Mehran Tamadon • Documentary • With Mehran Tamadon, Zar Amir Ebrahimi • 2023 • 82 minutes
“What are you thinking? You’re thinking, ‘This is cinema. I’m sowing seeds to create a dialogue.’ Maybe you’ll be able to open a dialogue. A dialogue without any outcome.” — Zar Amir Ebrahimi
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Beltracchi: The Art of Forgery
Directed by Arne Birkenstock • Documentary • With Wolfgang Beltracchi, Henrik Hanstein, Sofia Komarova • 2015 • 93 minutes
For nearly 40 years, Wolfgang Beltracchi fooled the international art world and was responsible for the biggest art forgery scandal of the postwar era. An expert in art hist...
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The Shooting on Mole Street
Directed by Mosco Boucault • Documentary • 1998 • 90 minutes
On March 1, 1996, 15-year-old Shafeeq Murrel was killed on the street in South Philadelphia — innocently caught in the crossfire between rival pairs of crack dealers out for revenge. Shafeeq’s murder was one of 435 in Philadelphia that...
