Giving one’s life some narrative shape in the form of a written autobiographical story can reveal patterns and trajectories that lead to the present moment. But what if that moment finds you in prison, apart from your children, home, and freedom? That’s the big question at the heart of The If Project, a documentary about a writing program for prisoners at the Washington Corrections Center for Women. Co-founded by two women at opposite ends of the criminal justice system—a Seattle police officer named Kim Bogucki and third-time offender and former cop hater Renata Abramson—the program is intended to slow or even stop cycles of dysfunction and lawlessness. The incarcerated women are asked, among other things, what one message might someone have told you that would have kept you from committing a crime? Answering that question on paper turns out to be a profound experience for many of the women here, some sobbing with self-awareness and deep regret. Further writing assignments focus on confessions, or the joys of simple things that are missed. For Bogucki, the point of all this is to understand better the forces that drive women onto a path that ends in imprisonment. For Abramson, the project—which is about a decade old now—has been transformative. Filmmaker Kathlyn Horan’s fly-on-the-wall, discreet presence with a camera captures something rare here: the look and sound of real vulnerability and courage in a world where survival is a challenge. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)
The If Project
(2018) 88 min. DVD: $50 ($125 w/PPR): public libraries; $295 w/PPR: colleges & universities. DRA. Collective Eye Films. Closed captioned. Volume 34, Issue 3
The If Project
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