‘Jail Time Records’ just played a winning tune and took home the Best Documentary Feature at Tribeca Festival.
Directors Dione Roach and Steve Happi world premiere of the film took the audience by storm with a film meant to provoke and enlighten on a world so rarely witnessed.
(Courtesy Jail Time Records)
“Every so often a captivating, unexpected film comes out of the blue that simply demands to be seen, and this one is truly unforgettable,” stated the Tribeca Film Festival jury about the winning project. “This film is the jaw-dropping story of a music recording studio built within the confines of an overcrowded prison in Cameroon, Central Africa, that gives incarcerated individuals an outlet for creative expression. The film is an undeniable statement about the transformational power of music, as we witness young artists find their voices under the most improbable circumstances. The stunning cinematography, remarkable intimacy, and bravura formal execution of the film are incredible to behold, to say nothing of the music itself, which is absolutely banging. This film is a cry to be heard from the depths of incarceration, and we are listening.”
A project that shines on the film festival circuit, it also won the Albert Maysles Award for Best New Documentary Director and Best Cinematography in a Documentary Feature.
The film follows three musicians – Stone, Transporteur, and Empereur – as they navigate life behind bars while creating music and organizing a concert within the prison walls. Jail Time Records started in October 2018, with a recording studio created inside an African prison in Douala, Cameroon, leading to the project that works with imprisoned artists as a fight for hope and redemption in the midst of extreme suffering. The documentary is executively produced by Taika Waititi and Rita Ora, along production company Artists Equity.
