California Documentary Project
Juvies
Community Transitions
Young offenders in one of the largest juvenile facilities in the United States await trial and sentencing in adult court.
Project director: Traci Odom
Last year 200,000 juveniles were prosecuted as adults in criminal courts in the United States, and the number of youths doing time in adult prisons has more than doubled in the past 10 years. "Juvies" is a film portrait of a group of juvenile offenders awaiting trial and sentencing in adult court in one of the largest juvenile facilities in the United States: Eastlake Central Juvenile Hall in Los Angeles. The film is structured around a video production workshop held at the facility. It shows kids learning how to use the cameras and taping interviews. Viewers also see them in their dormitories and later follow them into state prison. Award-winning filmmaker Leslie Neal, the film's director and producer, hopes the film will cause people to take a second look at the juvenile justice system. "The question we need to examine," said Neale, "is the ultimate cost to society of what we're doing to juvenile offenders."
For information about the film, email: chancefilm@yahoo.com.
Read an article about "Juvies" in the Los Angeles Daily Journal.