Big Sky Documentary Film Festival 2019 – 16 Bars
16 Bars is a feature length music documentary that offers a rare glimpse at the human stories — and songs — that are locked away in our nation’s jails and prisons. The film follows a unique rehabilitation effort in the Richmond City Justice Center that invites inmates to write and record original music. In the jail’s makeshift recording studio, four men collaborate on an album with a Grammy-winning recording artist, Todd “Speech” Thomas, from the iconic activist hip-hop group Arrested Development. As the creative process unfurls, each is forced to face painful memories from the past, which hold a key to a new chapter in their lives.
Interview with Director Sam Bathrick
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thanks. We connected with Grammy-winner speech Thomas years ago making a doc about Atlanta artists. He told us about this jail in Virginia he had seen on CNN that had a recording studio. We started filming and were blown away. The "why," for me, is when we realized how much these guys in jail had to say in their music, and how no one was going to hear it unless we found a way to record it and bring it out. That was when we knew we weren't going back.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
I think we all know there's an issue with mass incarceration. The stats and figures for the U.S. are staggering. It's a massive story and its hundreds of years old, and sometimes it feels too big to really even feel what it means. This film tells a micro-story: four men who are trapped in the system and trying to find a way out. Because the story finds these men writing music behind bars, their lyrics gives viewers a really unique lens into the struggles (addiction, mental health, generational poverty) that have landed them and so many others behind bars. Their honesty and humanity, and the courage behind their amazing artistry are what made us want to tell this story, and its why I think it’s worth a watch. Also, the soundtrack is amazing.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
When we started filming, I think we just hoped to make the story of the recording of an album behind bars. We did that, but as we went along, our story took us out of the jail, returning home with these guys back into the communities where they come from. Their mothers, girlfriends, brothers and sisters brought so much to the story, and we were glad to be able to zoom out and tell their story too.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The response has been pretty overwhelming. We've won some awards and picked up a distributor in Lightyear, but more importantly we've seen audiences genuinely moved and motivated to get involved. Through our outreach campaign, we've already started screening in jails, re-entry, and rehab programs and those have been especially powerful. We're looking forward to a theatrical run in fall 2019. It's a pretty special film to see in a theater.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We're looking for screening partners (jails/prisons, educational institutions, non-profits) who, through their members, are at the center of these issues. We want the film to spark conversation and action and we see these partnerships as central to that.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Journalists, international buyers or sales agents, film festival directors.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
95% of people who go to jail are going to come back out at some point and re-enter society. If there's no locking away this problem, then what are we going to do to prepare these guys to re-enter our society? And what are we going to do as citizens to make sure we're ready for them?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
We're currently developing a documentary about the late soul singer Donny Hathaway and producing a feature narrative written and directed by Jeremy Hersch.
Interview: February 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
16 Bars
16 Bars is a feature length music documentary that offers a rare glimpse at the human stories — and songs — that are locked away in our nation’s jails and prisons. The film follows a unique rehabilitation effort in the Richmond City Justice Center that invites inmates to write and record original music. In the jail’s makeshift recording studio, four men collaborate on an album with a Grammy-winning recording artist, Todd “Speech” Thomas, from the iconic activist hip-hop group Arrested Development. As the creative process unfurls, each is forced to face painful memories from the past, which hold a key to a new chapter in their lives.
Length: 1:34:24
Director:
Producer:
Writer:
About the writer, director and producer:
Key cast:
Looking for: journalists, film festival directors, buyers
Facebook: 16 Bars
Instagram: @16barsthefilm
Website: www.16barsthefilm.com