Series

Care Not Cages

When considering a world beyond prisons, Mariama Kaba speaks of “a vision of a different society, built on cooperation instead of individualism, on mutual aid instead of self-preservation.” Through several award-winning documentary film programs, Care Not Cages examines the American carceral system, from the wide-reaching national prison-industrial complex to the local proposed construction of a new jail right here in Monroe County, Indiana. With community conversations following each film, the series will spark conversation on how together we can create alternatives to incarceration and build a more just, equitable, and caring community. This partnership is supported through IU Cinema’s Creative Collaborations program and a generous grant from Indiana Humanities. All events in this program are open to the public and free but ticketed.

Curated by Seth Mutchler of Care Not Cages, with support from IU Cinema, New Leaf New Life, Dept. of American Studies, and the Center for Documentary Research and Practice.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

February 11, 5pm at I Fell: Care Not Cages Series Launch and Education Session

February 20, 7pm at IU Cinema: Beyond Walls Short Film Program. A collection of documentary shorts chronicling efforts toward prison abolition in the United States. Q&A to follow screening.

March 5, 7pm at Redbud Books: Riotsville, USA (2022) film screening. Welcome to Riotsville, a fictional town built by the US military. Using all archival footage, the film explores the militarization of the police and creates a counter-narrative to the nation's reaction to the uprisings of the late '60s. Presented in partnership with Redbud Books and Cicada Cinema.

March 7, 7pm at IU Cinema: Camperforce (2017) and Nomadland (2020). From award-winning documentarian Brett Story and Oscar-winner Chloe Zhao come two stories of the human toll of society's obsession with convenience.

March 18, 6:30pm at Monroe County Public Library Room 2A: Prisoner Letter Writing Night. Join Care Not Cages and Bloomington Anarchist Black Cross for a letter writing night. Learn about people who are incarcerated and write a letter of support.

March 22, 3pm at Redbud Books: “Organizing Everywhere.” A panel on community organizing near and far, featuring Brett Story (award-winning filmmaker, assistant professor at University of Toronto Cinema Studies), Judah Schept (professor, Eastern Kentucky University School of Justice Studies), Emmanuel Ortiz (campaign director, Help Not Handcuffs, Fort Wayne, Indiana), and Sam Holdeman (Care Not Cages, Bloomington, Indiana). Moderated by Jessica Zhang (research analyst, Vera Institute of Justice).

March 22, 7pm at IU Cinema: The Hottest August (2019). Named one of the best films of 2019, The Hottest August is a film about climate change disguised as a portrait of collective anxiety. A Q&A with filmmaker Brett Story and Dr. Joshua Malitsky, director of IU’s Center for Documentary Research and Practice, to follow screening.

March 23, 4pm at IU Cinema: The Prison in Twelve Landscapes (2016). With its vignettes of communities desperate for prison jobs, people paying huge fines for minor offenses, and more, Brett Story's film weaves a portrait of a culture where jail is part of daily life. A Q&A with filmmaker Brett Story and Dr. Micol Seigel (IU American Studies) will follow the screening.

March 23, 7pm at IU Cinema: Jorgensen Guest Filmmaker Series Presents Brett Story. An on-stage conversation with award-winning documentarian Brett Story and IU Cinema Director Dr. Alicia Kozma.

April 2, 7pm at IU Cinema: Time (2020). A breathtaking documentary that serves as both a poignant exploration of one family's pain and a thoughtful indictment of the prison-industrial complex. Q&A to follow screening.