Showing at Nonstop next Thursday

The Prisoners of Katrina (2007, 60 min) by Nick Read (BBC)
Thursday, January 13
7:00 PM
Nonstop Institute
305 N. Walnut St., Yellow Springs
donation

This BBC documentary investigates a story largely untold to American audiences—the conditions faced by almost 7000 prisoners in the New Orleans Parish Prison during Katrina, who had no food, water, light, or power for days, followed by an extended detention crisis where many were “lost” to public record. As the water rose in the prison some inmates were able to eventually knock cell doors off hinges while others died. Guards and their families were isolated by the flooding as well. Following the hurricane and the flooding, prisoners were distributed to other facilities in Louisiana and nearby states, records and forensic evidence were lost, and inadequate legal resources were engaged to manage the chaos, triggering human rights investigations. This documentary was made one year post-Katrina, and calls attention to both the devastation of Katrina and the crisis around incarceration in the U.S.
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About CONTRADICTIONS Film Workshop Screenings at Nonstop
November 2010-January 2011

CONTRADICTIONS, an international film series, has featured 5 critically acclaimed and rarely screened films produced from 1959-2006. The series has included both narratives and documentaries, and most of these projects represent radical departures from conventional filmmaking in chronicling contemporary social crises. The films in this series will be presented by Bob Devine and Chris Hill, who are both media scholars, educators, and independent producers. Background materials about the films will be provided, and audiences are encouraged to participate in discussions following the films. People are welcome to attend any individual screenings or the entire series. Cost is donation (pay-as-you-can).