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Solitary tells the stories of several inmates sent to Red Onion State Prison, one of over 40 supermax prisons across the US, which holds inmates in eight-by-ten foot solitary confinement cells, 23 hours a day.

Synopsis

Solitary tells the stories of several inmates sent to Red Onion State Prison, one of over 40 supermax prisons across the US, which holds inmates in eight-by-ten foot solitary confinement cells, 23 hours a day. Profoundly intimate, this immersive film weaves through prison corridors and cells, capturing the chilling sounds and haunting atmosphere of the prison. With unprecedented access, award-winning filmmaker Kristi Jacobson investigates an invisible part of the American justice system and tells the stories of people caught in the complex penal system – both inmates and correction officers - raising provocative questions about punishment in America today.
Courtesy of HBO Documentary Films

Credits

Kristi Jacobson

Director

Kristi Jacobson is an award-winning filmmaker whose films capture nuanced, intimate and provocative portrayals of individuals and communities. Her newest film, SOLITARY, an unprecedented look at life inside a supermax prison, will premiere at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. Jacobson’s film A Place at the Table, premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and was released theatrically by Magnolia Pictures in over 35 US cities. The film, which examines the shocking paradox of hunger in the wealthiest nation on earth through the very personal stories of three American families who face food insecurity daily, won the IDA’s prestigious Pare Lorentz Award and was nominated for Best Feature Documentary by the Producers Guild of America. Produced by Participant Media, the film is the cornerstone of a multi-year campaign to end hunger in the US.