Six Films That Plumb the Possibilities of Prison Abolition

Hyperallergic, December 14, 2022: Six Films That Plumb the Possibilities of Prison Abolition

“‘Abolition is building the future from the present, in all of the ways we can.’ Those are the poignant words of scholar Ruth Wilson Gilmore, cited in the Maysles Documentary Center’s announcement for its forthcoming film screening focused on prison abolition. XO & Struggle: An Evening of Abolitionist Cinema, taking place this Friday, December 16 at the Harlem-based nonprofit, will showcase six shorts by five filmmakers featuring a conversation after the screening.

“Emily Apter, the Maysles’s co-director of programming, curated the event alongside filmmakers Alex Johnston and Kelly Gallagher, both of whom are presenting their work in the lineup. Johnston’s short film ‘Dark Cell Harlem Farm’ (2022) delves into the 1913 deaths of 12 Black men on a prison plantation, exploring the dark history of Texas prisons from the abolition of slavery through the modern day. Gallagher’s film ‘From Ally to Accomplice’ (2015) investigates notions of allyship through examinations of White activists including John Brown and Marilyn Buck.

“‘While building this program, we spoke a lot about abolition as a political project infused with the joys and hope of making a better world,’ Apter told Hyperallergic. ‘These films at once contain the horror and violence of carceral systems and the love, creativity, and revolutionary spirit necessary for social transformation.’”

Additional reading:

Maysles Documentary Center: XO & Struggle: An Evening of Abolitionist Cinema

Prism, December 1, 2022: Advocates use fashion to promote abolition and illustrate the toll of incarceration

The New Yorker, May 7, 2021: The Emerging Movement for Police and Prison Abolition

GQ, June 11, 2020: How Would Prison Abolition Actually Work?