Crash and Burn

A filmic representation of an ethnographic study addressing heroin use and MMT (Methadone Maintenance Treatment) in Portlaoise, a small urban town in the midlands of Ireland. The film incorporates directly recorded picture from the field with the ethno-fictional recordings of two drug users who play the roles of the projects primary subjects by drawing of their own experience of drug use. The film is narratively structured to exhibit the contrastable and the significantly comparable pattern of heroin and methadone users lives by drawing attention to the sensorial elements of vision and sound they are both exposed to daily.

Claudia leaves from prison after twenty-six years behind bars. The camera follows her return to liberty. The reconstruction of her family bonds, her relations with her partner and her daily presence in the city let us analyze what reintegration means into society, show us the objectives of the penitentiary system and how it functions.

A documentary on reformed ex-con Rick Maylender and his attempts to help troubled youths by taking them out of their environment and showing them how to find and repair abandoned classic vehicles.

'The Last Words Of Dutch Schultz' is comprised verbatim from the deathbed transcripts of the gangster Dutch Schultz. Using found footage (everything from 1930's era travelogues, FBI training films, silents, newsreels, television serials, to golden era 1930 Hollywood films) the film takes place entirely within the mind of the dying gangster. It is discontinuous, non chronological, devoid of any conventional plot, and structured around subjective memories, imaginary scenes, fantasies, and dreams. The images bounce through time and space, memories and dreams as Dutch leapfrogs through his decaying mind in a race against the clock in search of an ultimate yet perilous serenity. With his last breath, he finds it in a moment in his fragile childhood.

The Reintegration Academy brought twenty 18-25 year old male parolees to a university environment for 10 weeks. The parolees were screened by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The participants were immersed in academic, life skills, and personal development modules during the program. This riveting documentary captures their experience trying to transform their lives.

This film takes a powerful and in-depth look at a California theater company called Poetic Justice Project, which is comprised of formerly incarcerated writers, artists, musicians and actors who perform original plays that examine the topics of crime, punishment and redemption. Begun in 2009 by Deborah Tobola, former Managing Director of Arts in Corrections at a California prison, Poetic Justice Project provides a powerful opportunity for formerly incarcerated individuals to find their way back into society through the arts, and helps bring greater understanding and important information about prison life to the general population.