anuary 4, 2017
Page 9
J
Mississippi
Alberta
North Portland
Vancouver
East County
Beaverton
A scene from the new non-fiction film ‘The Prison in Twelve Landscapes, screening for the Northwest Film Center at the Portland Art
Museum, on Friday, Jan. 6 through Sunday, Jan. 8.
The Prison in Twelve Landscapes
Jail-time merges
with daily life in
new documentary
The entrenched nature of the
prison in American society is the
backdrop for a new non-fiction
film about prison from the plac-
es we least expect to find it: The
front yards, public spaces and so-
cial rituals of everyday life.
The Northwest Film Cen-
ter at the Portland Art Museum,
downtown, presents “The Pris-
on in Twelve Landscapes, with 7
p.m. screenings on Friday, Jan.6
through Sunday, Jan. 8.
Filmmaker Brett Story uses a
series of vignettes to portrait a
culture where jail-time is part of
daily life, showcasing communi-
ties desperate for prison jobs, peo-
ple paying huge fines for minor
offenses, and the massive changes
to communities across the coun-
try.
A timely and subtly damning
documentary, the film builds a vi-
tal, at times tender, and at times
infuriating argument about the
entrenched nature of the prison in
American society.
The Northwest Film Center is a
regional media arts organization
offering a variety of exhibition,
education programs, and artist
services. For more information,
visit www.nwfilm.org.