Eight George Washington alumni were recognized by D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray and SnagFilms founder and chairman Ted Leonsis Monday as the recipients of Washington’s Best Film for their 2010 project on convicted felons reintegrating into society.
The film, titled “Released to Life,” which the alumni shot while they were graduate students in GW’s Documentary Center, profiles several ex-offenders after being released from prison and examines what programs are available to help them get on their feet and what services are missing.
“I want to congratulate the extraordinary young filmmakers on successfully tackling such an important topic and being a shining example for budding filmmakers all over the District,” said Mr. Gray, B.A. ’64, before a special screening at the Jack Morton Auditorium. “It’s certainly a timely topic for us in the District of Columbia because we literally have hundreds of people that are returning each year from incarceration, and we need to do everything we can to make sure they have an opportunity to lead a productive life.”
As part of their graduate certificate curriculum, the alumni – Jason Wilder Evans, Jatryce Jackson, Kripa Koshy, Yavar Moghimi, Hua “Lily” Qin, Erika Rydberg, Rebecca Taylor and Greg Upwall – were assigned to create a short documentary in two months under the direction of Nina Seavey, director of the Documentary Center.
“We started out just trying to learn how to make a student film so to get recognized and get an award for it and be able to show the movie to all the people you would ever want to see it is sort of a dream come true,” said Mr. Moghimi, who hopes Mr. Gray and the other city officials who watched the film Monday take its message back to city government.
“Released to Life” is available on SnagFilms’ website and will also be available for free On Demand. SnagFilms is a D.C.-based media company that showcases independent films in its global digital theater. Founded by entrepreneur Mr. Leonsis, SnagFilms’ mission is to empower individuals and communities to make a difference. Mr. Leonsis, who also owns the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards, described films like Released to Life as a form of “filmanthropy,” which can engage a community to change the world. The film forces viewers to ask themselves important questions, Mr. Leonsis said, like “What is our responsibility fortaking people who have committed crimes and have now served their time? What do we owe them as citizens to reintegrate them back into our community?”
Washington’s first-ever Best Film competition was created to celebrate the District’s talented filmmakers and to find original storytellers who create films that focus on improving the world. The competition was sponsored by SnagFilms and the D.C. Office of Motion Picture and Television Development, which is responsible for initiating and managing programs aimed at generating revenue and stimulating employment and business opportunities in the District through the production of film, television, video, photography and other multimedia projects. Participating filmmakers had to be living in the District or have a production company based in the city.
“It’s especially fitting that this first award of its kind should go to a film that concerns a subject of such great importance in the District of Columbia,” said George Washington president Steven Knapp.
In the U.S., one in every 31 adults is currently incarcerated, on probation or on parole. Each year, more than 650,000 people in the U.S. are released from prisons and jails. More than two-thirds of those released will be re-arrested, and more than half will return to prison within three years. This high rate of recidivism is linked to the shortage of rehabilitation programs both inside the prison walls and once the ex-offenders begin to reintegrate into their communities. Affordable housing and employment are some of the biggest issues ex-offenders face as they try to redefine themselves. These issues are especially exacerbated in D.C. as services have continued to be cut.
Named one of the top 10 schools for documentary filmmaking, GW’s Documentary Center, which is housed in the School of Media and Public Affairs, is one of the few U.S. educational centers that focuses exclusively on non-fiction film. The Documentary Center, which was founded in 1990, holds a six-month institute for documentary filmmaking every year, which provides students with an intensive theoretical and hands-on exploration of the documentary form.
“The Documentary Center here is best in class. It’s the best infrastructure that I’ve seen, and it’s no coincidence that the first film that won would be generated and initiated by this fine institution,” said Mr. Leonsis.
After the screening, several D.C. city officials, nonprofit directors and one of the ex-offenders featured in the film sat on a panel to discuss how D.C. could provide more services and employment opportunities to this population and reduce recidivism.
Mr. Moghimi, who hopes that he and his fellow filmmakers can find the necessary funding to expand the documentary into a longer film, said winning the Best Film award is the “greatest honor a first time filmmaker could want for their film.”
“We all went into documentary filmmaking because of its power to tackle tough social issues and inspire change,” he said. “This recognition will help spread the film’s ultimate message: that incarcerated people are transitioning back into society more than ever, and we need to make sure they are prepared for the struggles that await them.”