incarceration
42 movies and shows

Martyrs
Thu, 12 Jun 2008
A young woman’s quest for revenge against the people who kidnapped and tortured her as a child leads her and her best friend, also a victim of child abuse, on a terrifying journey into a living hell of depravity.

Requiem for a Dream
Fri, 06 Oct 2000
The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents are shattered when their addictions run deep.

The Card Counter
Fri, 03 Sep 2021
William Tell just wants to play cards. His spartan existence on the casino trail is shattered when he is approached by Cirk, a vulnerable and angry young man seeking help to execute his plan for revenge on a military colonel. Tell sees a chance at redemption through his relationship with Cirk. But keeping Cirk on the straight-and-narrow proves impossible, dragging Tell back into the darkness of his past.

Daughters
Fri, 09 Aug 2024
Four young girls prepare for a special Daddy Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers, as part of a unique fatherhood program in a Washington, D.C., jail.

Never Heard
Thu, 01 Nov 2018
After Aaron is charged with murder, he uses the power of prayer to help prove his innocence turning his life around and saving his son Jalen from the street life before it is too late.

Bathory: Countess of Blood
Thu, 10 Jul 2008
Bathory is based on the legends surrounding the life and deeds of Countess Elizabeth Bathory known as the greatest murderess in the history of mankind. Contrary to popular belief, Elizabeth Bathory was a modern Renaissance woman who ultimately fell victim to men’s aspirations for power and wealth.

The Big House
Sat, 14 Jun 1930
Convicted of manslaughter for a drunken driving accident, Kent Marlowe is sent to prison, where he meets vicious incarcerated figures who are planning an escape from the brutal conditions.

Frances Ferguson
Sun, 10 Mar 2019
Frances Ferguson is discontent. Like a lot of us, she does a bit of “acting out” and pays the price —an arrest, a trial, incarceration. And then a new identity, one that’s not terribly comfortable.

Black Thoughts
Wed, 12 Aug 2020
A man that is a stranger, is an incredibly easy man to hate. However, walking in a stranger’s shoes, even for a short while, can transform a perceived adversary into an ally. Power is found in coming to know our neighbor’s hearts. For in the darkness of ignorance, enemies are made and wars are waged, but in the light of understanding, family extends beyond blood lines and legacies of hatred crumble.

True Justice: Bryan Stevenson's Fight for Equality
Wed, 19 Jun 2019
An intimate portrait of Alabama public interest attorney Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, who for more than three decades has advocated on behalf of the poor, the incarcerated and the condemned, seeking to eradicate racial discrimination in the criminal justice system.

Twenty
Thu, 20 Apr 2023
Set in a speakeasy in Atlanta, “Twenty” is a feature documentary about fifteen young people making it through 2020. The film is an observational time capsule that lays bare the raw reflections of a group of people surviving a year that will be seared into our generational memory.

Hell
Wed, 16 Oct 2019
Chennu committed his first crime when he was 15 years old: being a street kid. And he entered hell: Pademba Road. The adult prison in Freetown. In hell, Mr. Sillah is in charge, and there is no hope. Chennu got out after four years. Now he wants to go back.

The Bird Who Could Fly
Sat, 21 Jan 2017
Arthur, a young Korean-American, tries to manage one brother, sentenced to spend his life in jail; his other brother, a drug addict; and pressure from their Korean-born mother.

Farther and Sun: A Dyslexic Road Trip
Sun, 30 Sep 2018
Could dyslexia be a gift? Or can it only ever be a disability? Documentary maker Richard Macer sets off on a road trip with his dyslexic son Arthur to find the answer. En route, they meet Richard Branson and Eddie Izzard, and many other successful dyslexic people. - BBC

Turned Out: Sexual Assault Behind Bars
Fri, 04 Jun 2004
A look beyond the shock and inhumanity of prison rape to the intricate social hierarchy that keeps it alive. A filmmaker goes deep inside Alabama's infamous Limestone penitentiary to uncover the long-term causes and consequences of prison rape. With a startling lack of inhibition, five inmates reveal the workings of an elaborate inner society.

Cyanide
Wed, 27 Feb 2013
Achille, 13, awaits, full of hope, the release from prison of his father, unknown and fantasized. His dream of living as a threesome, like a real family, will be seriously undermined by a mother exhausted from waiting and this father who is unsuitable and made irresponsible by so many years of incarceration. Will this vulnerable person with a flamboyant past be able to keep the promise he made to his son to never live apart from him again?

Jelly Roll: Save Me
Tue, 30 May 2023
An inside look as the 38-year-old prepares to perform at the famed Bridgestone Arena in his hometown of Nashville, featuring never-before-seen tour footage and interviews with the musician and those closest to him. It also shows how Jelly Roll balances life on tour with philanthropic work, including a visit to a juvenile detention facility where he was incarcerated multiple times to share his story in the hopes of inspiring positive change in others.

Preschool to Prison
Sat, 15 Jul 2023
Preschool to Prison is a compelling examination of how the United States public school system is built and operated like prisons. Zero-tolerance policies are used to justify suspension and arrests that set up a pathway to send children of color and children with special needs from school to prison. Children are being suspended, restrained, dragged, physically manhandled, and subsequently arrested for minor offenses such as throwing candy on a school bus. These personal accounts from people affected by the school-to-prison pipeline give riveting tales about the generational impact on society.

.dog
Tue, 09 Nov 2021
Young Dimitris, on the verge of manhood yet very much a child, has romanticized his imprisoned father to mythic proportions. When he gets released after ten years, Dimitris cannot wait to finally know him and make up for lost time. But when his father reveals his true nature, Dimitris must face a great dilemma: will his need of belonging prevail over his sense of justice?

La fuga
Wed, 27 Oct 2021
The internal journey of eight men, who, through a theater workshop, go through the different prisons they inhabit. Practicing the art of seeing themselves, in Boal's words, this group of men reflects on their masculinity as a representation to hide their true strength: their vulnerability.