Papillon (2017)

Papillon was based on Henri “Papillon” Charrière's autobiographies Papillon and Banco as well as the 1973 movie with Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. The film tells the story of Charrière (played by Charlie Hunnam), his false imprisonment in 1933 on the Devil’s Island penal colony, and his escape with the assistance of fellow inmate Louis Dega (played by Rami Malek).

Learners undertaking education provision run by Novus in His Majesty’s Pr*son and Young Offender Institution Thorn Cross were invited by the festival team to select a film for the festival.

A learner said, "There are high levels of tension, and this emphasises the loneliness and confinement I feel. Persistency is the key theme to the film, nothing stops the character and I see that in myself, I will keep going. I find this story inspirational and the character shows great resilience, which I hope to find."

A tutor said, "By working to a 'live brief,' employability skills are developed which included working collaboratively, team building and problem solving. The participants discussed the possible film choices from gathering research in the library. They listened to each other’s points of view and justifications, and voted for the film Papillon to be chosen for the film festival.

Novus staff will be joining us for the introduction and Q+A, and we hope to have input from the learners themselves.

The Manchester International Crime and Justice Film Festival 2024

This screening forms part of this year’s international film festival, sponsored by the Department of Sociology at Manchester Metropolitan University and curated by staff from the university’s

Since 2019 we’ve had a consistent mission – screening great films which provoke debate and provide an alternative take on crime, justice and punishment in the 21st century.

for details of the other film screenings and events in our programme.

Where are we hosting this event?

We are hosting this event in GF:11 at East Grosvenor Building, Cavendish Street, Manchester M15 6BG (opposite the Footage). A five minutes’ walk from Oxford Rd Station.

See you at the movies!

Your festival team:

Kevin Wong, Gavin Bailey, Anton Roberts, Katie Hunter and Phil Edwards

Host or Publisher Arts & Humanities Research & Innovation