California Documentary Project
Inside/Out: Life in a California Prison
Backbone Media
Writer, Producer and Director: Noel Schwerin
Life in a California State Prison
This is a 90-minute documentary about life in Soledad, a California State prison in the Salinas Valley.
The film follows a handful of inmates, prison staff and volunteers, weaving together their individual dramas, including the “Blood” struggling to exit the gang since getting married in prison, the new warden moving to wrest power from the old-school guards and the volunteer captivated by the prison experience, but able to leave at the end of the day.
The writer, producer and director of the film, Noel Schwerin, said, “Simply put, ‘Inside/Out’ makes visible what should be a critical part of the corrections debate: What is prison actually like? Who lives and works in prisons? What does prison culture tell us about the human capacity for violence — and for change?
“Without thinking hard about what prison is, why we send people there, and what the real costs and consequences are, we cannot begin to imagine alternatives for the future,” she added.
The film is in its early production phase and will be broadcast on PBS in 2010.