Beyond the Bars Film & Discussion Series

The Center for Justice and Union Theological Seminary are pleased to present the inaugural Beyond the Bars film and discussion series. The documentary series has been carefully curated to stimulate discussion on the expansive injustices of the US carceral system and how incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, their families, and allies are fighting for freedom and dignity before during, and after incarceration. A discussion panel of filmmakers and directly impacted leaders from the movement to end incarceration will follow each documentary.

EVENT #1: Screening of Trial 4 and The Sing Sing Chronicles

Location: Union Theological Seminary, Stewart Room

Time: Thursday, March 6 at 2pm

Description:

Trial 4: Featured on Netflix, Trial 4 is the story of Sean Ellis. Wrongly charged as a teen in the 1993 killing of a Boston cop, Sean K. Ellis fights to prove his innocence while exposing police corruption and systemic racism. He went through three trials within a year before a jury could convict him of the M**der of Officer Mulligan. Sean served 22 years in J*il for a crime he did not commit. Years later, exculpatory evidence around the handling of his case allows Sean to have a 4th trial.

The Sing Sing Chronicles: The Sing Sing Chronicles is an NBC News Studios production from Director Dawn Porter. Building on decades of investigative reporting from "Dateline" producer Dan Slepian, the four-part documentary series exposes the injustices of different wrongful convictions at the notorious Sing Sing Pr*son.

EVENT #2: Screening of Beyond Survival

Location: Union Theological Seminary, Stewart Room

Time: Friday, March 7 at 2pm

Description: Produced by Women & Justice Project and Kashif Incubator, Beyond Survival tells the story of New York’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (DVSJA) and the powerful leadership of currently and formerly incarcerated survivors in creating change.

Through compelling interviews with legislators, judges, and advocates – including survivors of abuse and long-term incarceration, Beyond Survival narrates the 10-year campaign for the DVSJA and spotlights critical efforts – led by Survivors Justice Project – to implement this groundbreaking sentencing reform.

As a result of determined advocacy by survivors and legal teams, the DVSJA has been used to secure the release of 68 survivors, saving 175 years of incarceration as of September 2024. While this progress is hopeful, more needs to be done. Some survivors have been denied relief under the DVSJA, some are excluded from the Act’s provisions, and many have yet to apply. In addition, while the DVSJA is groundbreaking, it is only one step in the larger effort to transform our criminal legal system and end gender-based violence.

EVENT #3: Screening of Time II: Unfinished Business

Location: Columbia School of Social Work, 1255 Amsterdam Ave, Room 311/312

Time: Saturday, March 8 at 5:30–7:30pm

Description: This screening will be a part of the Beyond the Bars main conference and will take place after the final block of workshops

In this touching next chapter of their saga, Sibil Fox and Robert Richardson, the notable couple from the Oscar-nominated film TIME (2020), return to the battleground of Louisiana’s carceral state to fight for the release of their nephew and co-defendant from the clutches of a merciless system and ultimately discover that the purpose of freedom is to free others.

Host or Publisher Center for Justice at Columbia University