Prison Film School

by Matt Kelley · 2009-03-31 09:12:00 UTC
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Tomorrow on the third episode of "San Quentin Film School," a group of prisoners will turn their cameras on one of one of the prison's most notorious cell blocks. The series, on the Discovery Channel, is an immensely watchable and moving portrait of life behind bars and a window on the potential for inmates to change through creative expression.

The full series can be seen here on YouTube. It's cable TV so there's some sensationalizing of prison life, but compared to COPS and CSI this show is a ray of light. The producers of "Paradise Lost" shopped the idea to two dozen prisons before San Quentin officials expressed interest. If only programs like this were replicated in prisons and jails across the country, we could reduce recidivism by showing prisoners that we care about their success and that there are countless paths to creative expression and productive work.

San Quentin is a leader in innovative programs like this - partnerships with nonprofits that improve the lives of prisoners and help in their successful reintegration into society. The Prison University Project has provided university education at the prison for 13 years and has inspired countless similar programs around the country.

Check out "San Quentin Film School." If you like it, write to your state's Department of Corrections and ask them if they do anything like it. Pressure from the outside can make things happen behind bars.

Matt Kelley is the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project and a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Follow him on Twitter @mattjkelley.
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