Event

The Dhamma Brothers

Dirs. Jenny Phillips, Anne Marie Stein and Andrew Kukura US 2007
An overcrowded maximum-security prison - the end of the line in Alabamas correctional system - is dramatically changed by the influence of an ancient meditation program. Behind high security towers and a double row of barbed wire and electrical fence dwells a host of convicts who will never see the light of day. But for some of these men, a spark is ignited when it becomes the first maximum-security prison in North America to hold an extended Vipassana retreat, an emotionally and physically demanding course of silent meditation lasting ten days. The Dhamma Brothers tells a dramatic tale of human potential and transformation as it closely follows and documents the stories of the prison inmates at Donaldson Correction Facility who enter into this arduous and intensive program. This film, with the power to dismantle stereotypes about men behind prison bars also, in the words of Sister Helen Prejean (Dead Man Walking), gives you hope for the human race. Directors present Fri & Sat 5/2 & 5/3 evening shows (76m)