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A plastic toy model of a retro style diner from the outside.

(In)justice and Incarceration: A Complex Equation

August 16, 2024
August 17, 2024
7:00 pm
10:00 pm
As part of a series of programs for our current exhibition, Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration, Two Rivers Gallery, in collaboration with Cinema CNC, is excited to present a two-day film program. This program features six powerful films from the Marking Time project, Moving Images Distribution, and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). These films explore themes of (in)justice while offering insights into the experience of incarceration, including the struggles, resilience and creativity often found there.

📍 Location: College of New Caledonia (CNC) – Room: 1-306
Admission by donation
Pay at the door

Featured image: Barry Rowen. Spiz, 2021.

August 16 films: Spiz, Out of Place & Potlatch: A Strict Law Bids Us Dance
August 17 films: Conviction, Project Hasan & Waseskun

Spiz
Barry Rowen 2021, 37 min

“Spiz,” a documentary about the life and artwork of Dean Gillispie, who spent 20 years imprisoned for crimes he did not commit. Gillispie was wrongfully charged and convicted with three counts of rape in the Dayton, Ohio area in the 1990s and ultimately spent two decades imprisoned. Following his 2011 release, he spent years working to clear his name.

Out of place
Asia Johnson 2022, 10 min

This short documentary sheds light on the issues faced by incarcerated individuals and challenges society’s perception of those who have served time.

Potlatch: A Strict Law Bids Us Dance
Dennis Wheeler 1975, 54 min

Produced by the U’mista Cultural Society, this film focusses on the anti-potlatching law, Chief Dan Cranmer’s 1921 Potlatch and the Indigenous communities involved. Forty-five members of the Kwakwaka’wakw Nation were prosecuted and much culturally significant material was seized. Through dramatizations as well as interviews with Kwakwaka’wakw Elders, this Internationally acclaimed film draws a spotlight on unjust and oppressive laws aimed at assimilation.

Conviction
Nance Ackerman, Ariella Pahlke & Teresa MacInnes 2019, 1 h 17 min

Conviction envisions alternatives to prison through the eyes of women behind bars and those fighting on the front lines of the decarceration movement. The film compels viewers to examine why we imprison the most vulnerable among us, and at what cost.

Project Hasan
Akeli Robertson, 13 min

Hasan has been incarcerated for 37 years. This short documentary explores the challenges and triumphs of bringing education to men serving time in prison.

Waseskun
Steve Patry 2016, 1 h 21 min

Filmed in cinéma vérité style, this feature-length doc follows a group of incarcerated men with troubled pasts as they undergo treatment based on Indigenous philosophy at the Waseskun Healing Center.A First Nations Carrier Artist of 25 years from the Saik’uz territory (Stoney Creek). Trained under Master Carver and renowned Gitxsan artist Ron Sebastian. Worked with numerous artists, learning and adopting different styles, combining them to make my own. Not only a painter, also a gifted carver as well; I’ve made countless masks, rattles, paddles, bowls, plaques, and totems.