130: Inside San Quentin - Moonlight

What would men in prison say, if we just listened? This week, Life of the Law presents a new INSIDE SAN QUENTIN episode - conversations inside San Quentin produced exclusively by men incarcerated inside the prison. We have laptops and can watch just about any movie or series anytime we want. Prisoners have access to some tv and select movies approved by the prison, but not all movies and, up until recently, not Moonlight, winner of the 2017 Academy Award for Best Picture. One day after watching the movie on my laptop, I described it to a couple of men, scene by scene before the weekly meeting of the San Quentin Society of Professional Journalists. One of the men said he wanted to see the movie but didn’t think the prison would allow it inside. Why not ask. As it turns out, prison officials said they would allow a screening of Moonlight inside the prison if, one, the producers of the film, A24 Films consented to the screening knowing the men couldn’t pay, and two, one of the prison chapels was available for the screening. Spencer Lindenman of A24 Films sent a DVD. The San Quentin Catholic Chaplin said the chapel was available. A few days after more than a hundred inmates attended the screening,  four men who saw the movie for the first time, sat down in the prison’s media center to talk about the film. Inside San Quentin: Moonlight was produced by Shadeed Wallace Stepter. Production Notes: INSIDE SAN QUENTIN - MOONLIGHT was produced by Shaeed Wallace Stepter. We want to thank Rashaan Thomas, Emile DeWeaver and Mike Adams. Our senior producer is Tony Gannon. We had production support from Andrea Hendrickson. Our post production editor is Rachael Cain. Music in this episode was by David Jassy. Photographer Brian Asey took photos inside San Quentin of the conversation. Special thanks to Spencer Lindenman at A24 Films for sending the DVD of Moonlight, Lt. Sam Robinson for approving the screening, and Father Gregory Williams of the San Quentin Catholic Chapel. Subscribe to our newsletter to get a behind-the-scenes look at the production, photos, and notes by the producers. You can subscribe right here on our website, Life of the Law.org. We’re a non-profit project of the Tides Center and we’re part of the Panoply Network of Podcasts from Slate. You can also find Life of the Law on PRX, Public Radio Exchange. We want to take moment to thank: for their recent donations… Kalli Catcott, Katie Burke, Patricia Pforte, Charles Magnuson, William English, Michael Yarbough and everyone who joined us at LIVE LAW in San Francisco…   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices