https://www.convictiondocumentary.com/
Conviction is a ‘broken society’ film, ambitious and inspired, from the inside out.
With more women in prisons than ever before the film invites viewers to question the status quo, to consider a different kind of society, one that supports the most vulnerable among us.
Conviction’s approach aims to collapse the ‘us’ and the ‘them’, the filmmaker and the subject, the viewer and the women in prison.
Click on photo below or link to view documentary:
https://gem.cbc.ca/media/documentary-specials/episode-99/38e815a-01298a55b51
Conventional documentary roles of director, crew, interviewer, and subjects are blurred as the women become empowered to develop their ideas, experiment with all aspects of filmmaking, and celebrate their own voices.
Their creative agency becomes a powerful force, encouraging them to chart the course of their own lives.
Bianca Mercer
I’m 25 years old, and incarceration, addiction, abuse on every level, abandonment and depression held me back from being who I truly wanted to be.
Now an ex-con turned advocate – sober, with so much life left, I finally am happy.
My life experiences have made me a strong, independent and fearless woman who is on a path to change the justice system and the conditions inside prisons in Canada. I’ve never felt so free in my life.
Treena Smith
I am 34 years old and I feel at my best when my hands are digging in the earth.
I have struggled with addiction, and incarceration for most of my adult life.
Most days it seems there will never be an end to my self-destruction, but I am hopeful that change will happen.
I’m passionate about sharing my life’s experiences to give understanding to others in similar situations – to help.
Kim Pate and the work of the Elizabeth Fry Society
Senator Kim Pate
Senator Kim Pate is a nationally renowned advocate who has spent the last 35 years tirelessly working in and around the legal and penal systems of Canada, with and, on behalf of, some of the most marginalized, victimized, criminalized and institutionalized members of our society.
Kim was the Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) from January 1992 until her appointment to the Senate in November 2016.
She believes that we should not be imprisoning our must vulnerable, but rather that we should be supporting them in their community.
She continues to visit federal and provincial prisons, in hopes that Canada will take a leadership role in decarcerating women who are in our country’s prisons.
Kim is driven by her conviction that systems of punishment need to be dismantled and replaced with effective support within the community.
She believes society has failed marginalized women, while our prisons have become warehouses for the poor and mentally ill.
As Kim continues her work with women inside, she connects us with the work of Elizabeth Fry Societies across Canada, with the history of debates about punishment, with the present-day decarceration community, and with the yet unknown work she’s beginning as senator, to realize her vision of a world without prison.
The Mother’s Blue Diamond Energy of Hope for Balance Everywhere
As Within So Without
