The Work

Date: Monday, September 25, 2017

Time: 7pm

Location: Brattle Theatre, Cambridge, MA

Director(s): Jairus McLeary & Gethin Aldous

Film Details: 87 minutes, 2017, USA, color, HD

Film Website | Trailer | Facebook Event | Tickets

Winner of the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival. Winner of the Audience Award at the 2017 Sheffield Doc/Fest.

Filmmaker Jairus McLeary will attend in person for discussion with Chico Colvard, Boston-based filmmaker and Curator of the UMB Film Series.

About the Film:

Set inside a single room in Folsom Prison, “The Work” follows three men from outside as they participate in a four-day group therapy retreat with level-four convicts. Over the four days, each man in the room takes his turn at delving deep into his past. The raw and revealing process that the incarcerated men undertake exceeds the expectations of the free men, ripping them out of their comfort zones and forcing them to see themselves and the prisoners in unexpected ways. “The Work” offers a powerful and rare look past the cinder block walls, steel doors and the dehumanizing tropes in our culture to reveal a movement of change and redemption that transcends what we think of as rehabilitation.

“A compelling emotional display, one that captures masculinity at its most innocent and leads to profound displays of compassion”IndieWire

About the Filmmakers:

Jairus McLeary is a court videographer and filmmaker. “The Work” is his first documentary. He spent several years gaining the trust of the convicts in order to film.

Gethin Aldous directs motion capture for a major video gaming company. After his own experience at Folsom he joined forces with Jairus. This is his second documentary feature.

Screens with:

MOTHER’S DAY

8 minutes | 2017 | Directed by Elizabeth Lo and R.J. Lozada.

An annual bus service that takes children to visit their mothers in prison explores the impact of mass incarceration on a generation of youth.