WOMEN BEHIND BARS

OKLAHOMA NEWS: Parents behind bars

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:23:16 -0600

A state task force makes recommendations to improve the lives of children of the incarcerated.

Women Behind Bars at Trail Dance Film Festival!

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:22:30 -0600

Women Behind Bars will be screening at the Trail Dance Film Festival on Jan. 27 at 7:15pm. Venue details are above.

Individual tickets are $7.00 and can be purchased at the time of the screening. Pass rates are below and can be purchased at http:// traildancefilmfestival.com/box_office.asp

2012 Friday Pass Jan 25, 2012 $20.00 $1.49
2012 Saturday Pass Jan 25, 2012 $25.00 $1.62
2012 Weekend Pass Jan 25, 2012 $40.00 $1.99

Oklahoma Senior Serving Life Without Parole for Drug Sentence

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:45:16 -0500

Oklahoma Senior Serving Life Without Parole for Drug Sentence:

Despite Gov. Mary Fallin’s lip service to a reduced incarceration rate among non-violent offenders in Oklahoma, 61 year old Larry E. Yarbrough was denied commutation on a life without parole sentence for drug trafficking.

In the Press: OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE Features Our Film!

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 07:59:00 -0500

In the Press: OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE Features Our Film!

In the Press: OK Gazette Article Features Our Film

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 10:38:00 -0500

In the Press: OK Gazette Article Features Our Film

You’ve got to see this! Introducing our brand new website,...

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 18:57:29 -0500

You’ve got to see this! Introducing our brand new website, designed by Amina and created by the talented Catherine Kerley. Over the past couple of months myself (Cassie here!), Amina, and Catherine met to decide what was the most important information for the site. After re-working the information architecture and content, we are proud to introduce the new and improved Women Behind Bars site! Stay tuned for bonus footage from the film, audience reactions, and future screenings. Thank you again for your support!

Our first international screening acceptance letter showed up in...

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 10:49:48 -0500

Our first international screening acceptance letter showed up in our inbox the other day! We are so excited about the Winnipeg Aboriginal Film Festival screening! Wish we could go…maybe, just maybe a miracle will happen!

Dear Cassie Ketrick,

I am writing to let you know that your documentary will screen at the 10th Anniversary of the Winnipeg Aboriginal Film Festival this coming November 2011. We are finalizing our screening schedule and you will get an “official” letter from us very soon with more details.

We are awaiting sponsorship confirmations so we cannot promise any travel assistance right now but it would be great if you could attend WAFF 2011. In the meantime we encourage you to apply to local arts organizations for travel funding.

Talk soon,

Rachel Bach Festival Coordinator

Winnipeg Aboriginal Film Festival

Screenings, funding apps, indiegogo OH MY! We are cooking...

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:26:00 -0500

Screenings, funding apps, indiegogo OH MY! We are cooking something up…and we are excited to see where this takes the film. We are currently applying for post-production funding via Chicken and Egg Pictures and The Fledgling Fund. These are two highly regarded indie filmmaking sources, so our chances are pretty slim. But ya know that hasn’t stopped us before! The applications are due by September 30 so we have our work cut out for us. In other WBB news, we are looking into setting up an IndieGoGo campaign to help with the cost to put the film on DVD so the world can have it! A percentage of the proceeds will go the Girl Scouts Beyond Bars here in Tulsa, Oklahoma. That will probably be launched within the next month, so look out for more ways you can get involved with this issue and support Oklahoma documentary filmmaking. Thank you for your continued support!

We've been entering film festivals...

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 17:38:15 -0500

The following is an amazingly kind and encouraging letter notifying our crew that we did not make it into the Austin Film Festival. Though disappointing, I felt it helped to place our hard work into perspective - we’re doing the best we can, and hopefully someone out there caught a glimpse of the film and loved it, even though it didn’t make the final cut.

Thank you Austin Film Festival! We were honored just to have been considered!

September 14th, 2011

Dear Amina Benalioulhaj,

Thank you for submitting your film Women Behind Bars to the 2011 Austin Film Festival. With over 2,500 submissions, it has been extremely challenging to determine selections for this year’s competition. Regretfully, we must inform you that your film was not selected for screening at the festival this year.

Please know how much we appreciate the filmmaking process, the labor of love and the trials and tribulations that come with taking a story and transforming it into a film that can be shared with the world. To ensure that each film was given fair and careful consideration, each work was watched and evaluated at least twice. However, judging film, at any level, is a very complicated process and one that is, by nature, extremely subjective. Also, as with every festival, we are limited by the number of films we can fit into a program each year.

Do not let this discourage you. Your talent and the measure of your film’s success in the marketplace are not subject to the outcome of a single competition. We encourage and challenge you to continue working to get your film recognized. Competitions are a great start, but don’t stop there. This is an industry that demands persistence. If filmmaking is your passion, pursue it relentlessly.

The Austin Film Festival and the programming team wish you all the best in your future endeavors and we hope that we can continue to be a resource for you in the future. Our door is always open for someone with a new story to tell.

Sincerely,

Stephen Belyeu Stephen Jannise

Film Competition Programmer Film Program Director

Austin Film Festival Austin Film Festival

In the Press: OK Gazette story - ‘Women Behind Bars’ documentary probes state’s high incarceration rate of females

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:51:07 -0500

In the Press: OK Gazette story - ‘Women Behind Bars’ documentary probes state’s high incarceration rate of females

Women Behind Bars Screening and Discussion Panel

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 16:51:40 -0500

Women Behind Bars Screening and Discussion Panel

An amazing resource/site that actually talks to kids about teen...

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 14:07:14 -0500

An amazing resource/site that actually talks to kids about teen dating violence.

So impressed.

Wondering what the Women Behind Bars crew is up to? We’re...

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 09:58:01 -0500

Wondering what the Women Behind Bars crew is up to? We’re working up a new design for the website! Here’s a sneak-peek at the new site design with Amina fine tuning one of the pages during lunch at the Earth Deli. We plan to launch the new site next week. Stay tuned for more peeks …

Set photography for WOMEN BEHIND BARS by Sarah Warmker

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 09:53:12 -0500

Set photography for WOMEN BEHIND BARS by Sarah Warmker

The Center for Children and Families is an amazing organization...

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 17:07:00 -0500

The Center for Children and Families is an amazing organization that really does a lot for the Norman community. Support them by volunteering, donating, or spreading the word. Check out the PhotoVoice exhibit Friday, Sept. 9 @ Studio 360 from 6-9pm at the Norman 2nd Friday Circuit of Art. 11 of Norman’s seventh and eight grade girls, involved with the Center for Children and Families, Inc. Girl Power group, were asked to represent their community or point of view by taking photographs, discussing them together, and developing narratives to go with their photos over the last three months.

SEPT. 20: Women Behind Bars Film Screening & Discussion Panel

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 13:05:59 -0500

SEPT. 20: Women Behind Bars Film Screening & Discussion Panel :
Tuesday, September 20 · 6:30pm - 9:00pm

Forum Auditorium, Thurman J. White Forum Building, University of Oklahoma Norman Campus, 1700 Asp Ave.

ADMISSION IS FREE.

Join the OU College of Liberal Studies as a part of its 50th anniversary celebration for the screening of this special film that addresses the criminal justice system’s effects on Oklahoma families.

DISCUSSION PANEL MEMBERS:

Amina Benalioulhaj, Women Behind Bars Producer/Director

Sheila Harbert, Director of Girls Scouts Beyond Bars of Eastern Oklahoma

Laura J. Pitman, Ph.D., Deputy Director of Female Offender Operations Oklahoma Department of Corrections

Susan Sharp, Ph.D., L.J. Semrod Presidential Professor, OU Sociology Department

Reception to follow.

For more information contact Missy Mitchell, mjmitchell@ou.edu.

OK Policy on HB 2131

Fri, 20 May 2011 15:06:04 -0500

OK Policy on HB 2131:

HB 2131 - A corrections reform bill authored by House Speaker Kris Steele.

Our most recent trailer, newly released in preparation for some...

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:59:54 -0500

Our most recent trailer, newly released in preparation for some local film festivals.

Dr. Susan Sharp's Most Recent Work: OK Policy Blog

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:53:07 -0600

Dr. Susan Sharp's Most Recent Work: OK Policy Blog

Our New Website!

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 20:42:32 -0600

Our New Website!:

With the help of a good friend who is also a web designer for the University of Oklahoma, Catherine Kerley, we’ve managed to set up a custom website for WOMEN BEHIND BARS!

Don’t worry, we’ll continue to make updates to our Tumblr, Facebook, and Twitter accounts - keep posted for upcoming screenings!