26.2 TO LIFE
The San Quentin Prison Marathon has an unconventional route: 105 dizzying laps around a crowded prison yard. 26.2 TO LIFE is a new documentary that tells the story of incarcerated men who are members of the 1000 Mile Club, the prison’s long-distance running club. They train all year for this 26.2 mile race. For the men who take their places at the starting line on a cool, sunny November morning, completing the marathon means more than entrée into an elite group of athletes. It’s a chance to be defined by more than their crimes. Cheering them on are a small staff of volunteer coaches, veteran marathoners who train with the runners throughout the year. The bonds they forge on the track create a community that transcends prison politics and extends beyond the prison walls as members are released. 26.2 TO LIFE is a story of transformation and second chances. The film offers a rare glimpse into a world out of bounds, as the men navigating life sentences seek redemption and freedom… or something like it.
Interview with Director/Producer Christine Yoo
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Over 20 years ago, I became friends with Hyun Kang, a Korean-American man who could’ve easily been my brother - we are close in age and share a similar upbringing, having both grown up in predominantly white, suburban, upper-middle class neighborhoods, our fathers attended the same schools back in Korea, which is a big thing in my culture, we had stay-at-home moms and were expected to become a doctor or lawyer. But he found himself sentenced to life in a California State Prison without any hope of ever getting out before he died. I have always been interested in social justice issues - and in particular those relating to the criminal legal system - but until that time, I had not known anyone personally who had been in prison. My friend’s experience made me think much more deeply about the impact of incarceration, not only on the individual and their family but also on the larger community. It also made me want to understand how people who expect to be in prison for life find ways to continue living.
The opportunity to explore that question came to me in 2016, after I read an article in GQ about the 1000 Mile Club. I knew immediately that I wanted to make a film about the marathon. I couldn’t get Van Gogh’s “Prisoners Exercising” out of my head and contacted the club’s coach, Frank Ruona, for a meeting. I have experienced “runner’s high” and the sense of freedom that comes from running and could imagine how beneficial that could be to people in prison. What I didn’t yet understand was how critical a role running and a running community could play in the process of personal and social transformation.
Though the film explores the dark realities of what led these men to prison, 26.2 TO LIFE is ultimately a story of hope and second chances. Ending the system of mass incarceration is one of the greatest challenges of our time, but what can we as individuals do to make a difference? How the community of the 1000 Mile Club responds to the everyday conditions of the system shows that real change is possible… and it’s happening. Due to the nature of how prison works, the story of the 1000 Mile Club has literally been hidden from public view, until now. I am eternally grateful to Frank Ruona and the coaches and runners of the 1000 Mile Club, their families and San Quentin for allowing my cameras to capture their extraordinary story and entrusting me to share it with the world.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
The story of the 1000 Mile Club is simply inspirational, whether you want just a great story of triumph or looking for a great sports story. But the 1000 Mile Club also has a lot to teach people about how we as ordinary citizens can make change.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We won the audience award at Santa Barbara Int'l Film Festival this past weekend. Also, we had a screening inside San Quentin which was very interesting and it was great to hear the feedback we got there. Many of the men told us that seeing Markelle Taylor (one of the main subjects) crossing the finish line in Boston was a reminder to them that they need to have goals and dreams. Seeing Tommy's son opened up a lot of conversation about how men deal with their children that we heard continued way after the screening inside the cellblock. We also heard that many of the incarcerated guys hate prison films because they feel usually the filmmaker has a hidden agenda, but they told us that this film could've been made by one of them.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I've been overwhelmed with the positive feedback. At the same time, the 1000 mile Club and their amazing stories have fueled my team for 5 long years. My team sincerely have always believed in the beauty and importance of their story and it's just amazing to hear feedback that they also are getting the same things out of the club that we did as filmmakers.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We hope to build more community and get people involved with our social impact and share our experiences.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Film festival directors, distributors and marketers/brands. We are looking for sponsors for our theatrical and social impact campaign and underwriting for our upcoming PBS broadcast.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
We have a 2 pronged distribution approach. Outside of regular distribution (theatrical, broadcast), we are doing social impact, targeting two audience segments -- social justice advocates and runners. We hope that the film confronts viewers about their biases and assumptions about people in prison. We hope this leads viewers to think more deeply about the role of prisons in our society and support sentencing and other criminal justice reform and inspire volunteerism.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Do people really change? What does rehabilitation look like? Why do we need to reduce our prison population? What are the solutions to reduce our prison population?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
We are developing a series now.
Interview: February 2023
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
26.2 TO LIFE
The San Quentin Prison Marathon has an unconventional route: 105 dizzying laps around a crowded prison yard. 26.2 TO LIFE is a new documentary that tells the story of incarcerated men who are members of the 1000 Mile Club, the prison’s long-distance running club. They train all year for this 26.2 mile race. For the men who take their places at the starting line on a cool, sunny November morning, completing the marathon means more than entrée into an elite group of athletes. It’s a chance to be defined by more than their crimes. Cheering them on are a small staff of volunteer coaches, veteran marathoners who train with the runners throughout the year. The bonds they forge on the track create a community that transcends prison politics and extends beyond the prison walls as members are released. 26.2 TO LIFE is a story of transformation and second chances. The film offers a rare glimpse into a world out of bounds, as the men navigating life sentences seek redemption and freedom… or something like it.
Length: 1:28:00
Director: Christine Yoo
Producer: Hella Winston, Carolyn Mao and Sara Jane Sluke
About the director and producer:
CHRISTINE YOO is a director, producer, writer, volunteer at San Quentin State Prison and co-founder of the San Quentin Film Festival. As a producer, she has worked on nonfiction series for National Geographic, History, Oxygen and PBS for Revelations Entertainment, S.M.A.C., The Story Lab, Dick Wolf Films, Shed Media and Prometheus. Her independent work focuses on under-served voices and has been sponsored by Sundance, The Marshall Project, Rogovy Foundation, LGMobile, Hyundai, Korean Air and she is a Logan Nonfiction Fellow. Yoo directed and produced the documentary short, A Conversation At Claudia’s, a special project for the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA PS1), co-wrote the cult anime series Afro Samurai, starring Samuel L. Jackson, and directed, produced and co-wrote the award-winning Korean-American rom-com Wedding Palace, starring Brian Tee and S. Korean actress Kang Hy-jung (Oldboy) in her English language debut. 26.2 TO LIFE is Yoo’s first feature documentary.
HELLA WINSTON is a sociologist and investigative journalist with a background in print and audio reporting and documentary film production. She has held postdoctoral research fellowships at Johns Hopkins, Princeton and UMass Amherst and was a Senior Fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University. She has received reporting grants from the Fund for Investigative Journalism and the Investigative Fund/Type Investigations and was one of five 2017 John Jay/Quattrone Reporting Fellows at the H.F. Guggenheim Symposium on Crime in America at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
CAROLYN MAO is a LA-based producer and former development executive. Her most recent release is Marvelous and the Black Hole, the debut feature for writer/director Kate Tsang, starring Miya Cech and Rhea Perlman, which premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and was released theatrically in April 2022. The film was the recipient of the $1M grant from Untold Stories, presented by AT&T and Tribeca Film Institute. She also produced an episode of Take Out with Lisa Ling (HBO Max) and was an Associate Producer on the documentary, Be Water, which premiered at Sundance 2020 (ESPN). Mao is a fellow of the Cannes Producer Network, Sundance Producing Summit, Film Independent Producing Lab and Tribeca Film Institute’s All Access and Through Her Lens programs. As a Project Involve fellow, she was the recipient of the inaugural Amazon Studios fellowship awarded to a visionary producer.
SARA JANE SLUKE has produced 150 hours of unscripted broadcast programming for a variety of networks including ABC, Fox, CW, Discovery, History, National Geographic, MTV, and Lifetime. Docuseries highlights include Cellblock 6: Female Lockup (Relativity Media/TLC), which followed the stories of incarcerated women in a Cincinnati jail, and Escape to Chimp Eden (Animal Planet), a Humane Society Genesis Award-nominated series that tracked the rescue and rehabilitation of chimpanzees at a Jane Goodall Institute sanctuary in South Africa. Sluke is also a showrunner and writer of children’s television, and co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Dealing With Stress for Teens and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Surviving Peer Pressure for Teens (Alpha Books).
Key cast: Frank Ruona (head coach), Markelle Taylor, Tommy Wickerd, Rahsaan Thomas (they are all the main runners)
Looking for: film festival directors, distributors and buyers
Facebook: 26.2 to Life
Instagram: @sqmarathon
Hashtags used: #runwithus #sanquentinmarathon #cjreform #1000MileClub
Other: www.sanquentinmarathon.com
Funders: Kickstarter
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
Film Festivals and social impact screenings in:
San Francisco, Cleveland, DC, Denver