Woo hoo! We've hit $40,915! THANK YOU, friends!

(Some people have opted to send checks instead of donating through IndieGoGo, so not everything shows in our total raised. To send a tax-deductible check, please make out to our 501c3 fiscal sponsor, From the Heart Productions and send c/o Philomath Films, PO Box 5201, Santa Fe, NM 87502. Email jilann@philomathfilms.com with any questions!)

We're making an update film to Shakespeare Behind Bars!

Join the team and make a contribution! Your donations are TAX DEDUCTIBLE! (minus perk costs)  

ABOUT THE NEW PROJECT:
It's been 20 years since we filmed SBB, and you've been asking all that time about what happened to our beloved cast. Sooooo much has transpired for Curt and the guys, you're going to be amazed. We're finally ready to dive in to filming again and we would love to include you in this journey!

Cast photo from The Tempest, 2003

For us, this update film couldn't be more meaningful and timely. SHAKESPEARE BEHIND BARS premiered at Sundance in 2005, won 11 awards on the festival circuit (playing at over 40 fests), showed in theaters throughout the US, and then made its way to television around the world. Over the past 20 years, the film has become a cult favorite that's still in demand. It has spawned more prison arts programs, plus articles, books and scholarly research. And while the film showed how the SBB program dramatically increases quality of life for incarcerated people, what we weren't able to show was its incredible longterm effects. 

Jilann and Hank at Sundance premiere, 2005

In the SBB doc, we got a window into how a theatre prison program helps people delve into their pasts and move towards healing. The new film will explore how this work carries these men into their future, and how their healing ripples out into their families and communities. As Warden Chandler said “The day they come into prison, we should be preparing them for the day they leave.”

The recidivism rate for the SBB program alumni is 7%, while the national average is 67%! What if prisons made creative work and the expressive arts central to their programming? Would our national recidivism rate fall measurably, as it has with the SBB alums? We want to underline the long-lasting effects the SBB program has had on the men fortunate enough to engage with it. 

Leonard Ford in the Tempest, 2003

The Film Team 

We are thrilled to be getting the band back together! Shana Hagan, ASC, who shot our first SBB film is back on board to film this update. Shana brings more than 30 years of cinematography experience, with her work contributing to 19 films that have premiered at Sundance, plus one Oscar-winner! She's now the DP of the hit HBO show, SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE and Fox's WELCOME TO FLATCH! We feel incredibly blessed to have Shana back with us for this. And we're very happy to be adding Kieran Sequoia to the team. Kieran is a long-time thespian and has worked in film as an actor, producer and production coordinator on projects such as BREAKING BAD, and the latest in Disney's NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM series. Kieran brings a passion for the story and a willingness to dive in wherever needed to lead us to success. And of course, Hank and Jilann will be producing and directing once again. 

Hank and Shana shoot at Luther Luckett Correctional Complex, 2002

Get involved! 

When making an independent documentary, first monies in are the hardest to raise. That's why we've launched this campaign because we know the SBB fans are on board to help move this forward. Any dollars donated to this campaign will have an exponential impact on making this film possible. We'll use the funds raised here to start filming with our SBB film crew asap! 

Over the course of this campaign, we'll be updating you on what they guys have been up to, and you'll hear directly from Sammie Byron and Curt Tofteland. So stay tuned and please donate to come aboard, and share, share, share this campaign!
                   YOUR DONATIONS ARE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE!! 

How long will this take? 

Making a documentary is a long-term, major endeavor. But once we feel a project has potential, we are committed to finishing it and getting it out into the world. Whatever it takes! (And it may take a year or two!) You can be rest assured that your contribution will go towards filming in this critical beginning phase of the project. And if we raise beyond our goal, we'll keep putting the funds into filming and then post production, bringing us ever closer to the finish line. The more $ we raise here, the faster we can get this film made and seen. Your contribution ensures that you'll be in the inside circle while it's being made, and one of the first to see the update film!

Other Ways You Can Help...

Share, share, share! There are Share icons at the top of this campaign page, under the goal amount. Please use these Share Tools to help us get the word out, post on social media, and even send a personal email if you feel so moved! If you'd like, use our hashtags: #shakespearebeyondbars #shakespearebehindbars #prisonarts.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!