Inmates playing basketball in a prison yard with mountains in the background.

Tehachapi

(Tehachapi)

Artist JR uses large portrait photographs of inmates of a supermax prison in the USA to show that even a person on the very fringes of society can change for the better.

French street artist JR found worldwide fame with his art, which gives a voice to the oppressed and the overlooked. In 2019, he gained access to one of the world’s most guarded prisons – Tehachapi in California. He chose this institution because it’s where US courts often send young criminals to serve the harshest sentences. Former gang members and murderers have often spent their entire adult life behind bars and never had the chance to put their mistakes behind them. JR works on a multimedia project with selected prisoners in the courtyard that is often the site of bloody fights. He slowly builds personal relationships with several men and follows their trajectories. Viewers are confronted with the frequent prejudices about people who act outside the law.

Atlas – Large Hall, Ke Štvanici 371/4, Praha 8

Discussion
Anna Koucká, Moderator
Lenka Tyrpeklová, Artist
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Prague Municipal Library – Small Hall, Mariánské nám. 1, Praha 1

tickets
TitleTehachapi
Original TitleTehachapi
Original LanguageEnglish
Subtitles Czech
PremiéraCzech premiere
Film typeFull-length documentary
Year of Production2023
Country of OriginFrance
Length92 min.
Tags Justice, North America
Director JR

Others Films from category Structures of Power

Tehachapi