Screenings

Last Day of Freedom by Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman
Nominee, Best Short Documentary Subject, The 88th Academy Awards, 2016.
When Bill Babbitt realizes his brother Manny has committed a crime, he agonizes over his decision- should he call the police? Last Day of Freedom, a richly animated personal narrative, tells the story of Bill’s decision to stand by his brother in the face of war, crime and capital punishment. The film is a portrait of a man at the nexus of the most pressing social issues of our day – veterans’ care, mental health access and criminal justice. Original music by Fred Fritha.

Bloodsworth. An Innocent Man by Gregory Bayne
Documentary memoir recounting Kirk Noble Bloodsworth’s remarkable journey through the criminal justice system. Kirk is an innocent man, convicted and sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. He became the first death row inmate exonerated by DNA evidence in the United States. Set against the backdrop of his 2013 battle for the repeal of the death penalty in the State that sentenced him to death, BLOODSWORTH – An Innocent Man offers an intimate glimpse into what it is to wake up to a living nightmare; an innocent man caught in the perfect storm of injustice.

The Wavering Public ? The Death Penalty, Justice, and Public Opinion by Yo Nagatsuka
The Wavering Public? The Death Penalty, Justice and Public Opinion provides a rare insight into public perceptions of this controversial topic in Japan. 135 ordinary citizens gather for two days in one room where they listen, discuss, and deliberate on crime and punishment. The film explores what the death penalty means to ordinary citizens living in a retentionist state – one in which much of the practice surrounding the death penalty remains secretive and discreet. The project and the documentary was led by Dr Mai Sato (Lecturer, University of Reading, UK) and made possible by grants from the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the German Federal Foreign Office, the Norwegian Foreign Office, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the European Commission and the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation. A debate with Dr Mai Sato followed the screening

The Penalty by Will Francome and Mark Pizzey
From the team behind One For Ten comes a feature documentary to lift the lid on the human cost of the death penalty in the United States. The Penalty follows three people caught in the crosshairs of capital punishment, and the political landscape that could decide their fate. Going behind the scenes of some of the biggest headlines in the history of America’s death penalty, the film follows the lethal injection protocol crisis that resulted in a botched execution, the rehabilitation of a man who spent 15 years on death row for a crime he didn’t commit, and the family of a young woman – brutally murdered – split by the state’s pursuit of the ultimate punishment.

Performance

« Final Sentence 2003-2016 » by Michael O’Donnell,
music from Luigi Dallapiccola, « Ciaccona », Intermezzo e Adagio for cello solo (1945)
performed by Jan Koop
Michael O’Donnell is associated with a generation of British sculptors who, in the 80s, established a new approach to the medium of sculpture. He is currently Professor and formerly Dean of the Academy of Fine Art in Oslo. His work, FINAL SENTENCE 2003-16, is a memorial based on the final words of death row inmates in Texas, right before their execution.

Exhibitions

Windows on Death Row, Art From Inside and Outside the Prison Walls
Windows on Death Row is a unique collaborative exhibition, produced by cartoonists and death row prisoners. It was created by journalist Anne-Frédérique Widmann and editorial cartoonist Patrick Chappatte, with Los Angeles curator Anne Hromadka and the help of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.

Cartoons Against the Death Penalty by Mana Neyestani
Mana Neyestani is an Iranian cartoonist. He was imprisoned in 2006 following the publication of one of his cartoons. Released on bail, he left Iran with his wife and now lives in Paris. Mana is a former guest author of ICORN (International Cities of Refuge Network). He currently works for several Iranian websites such as Rooz Online, Mardomak and Radio Zamaneh.