#Criminal Justice
Nesta Cooper and Kelley Kali Team Up For “Kemba” Drama Inspired by Kemba Smith
Nesta Cooper is bringing the story of activist and author Kemba Smith to the screen in “Kemba.” Directed by Kelley Kali for MPI Original Films and BET, “Kemba” is a drama inspired by the true...
Sundance 2022 Women Directors: Meet Julie Ha – “Free Chol Soo Lee”
Julie Ha’s storytelling career spans more than two decades, with a specialized focus on Asian American stories. She worked as an editor for 10 years at KoreAm Journal, a national Korean American...
Trailer Watch: Nancy Buirski Revisits “A Crime on the Bayou” and Exposes Institutional Racism
An examination of justice, allyship, and activists working together to dismantle institutional racism, Nancy Buirski’s “A Crime on the Bayou” tells the story of Gary Duncan, a Black...
Hot Docs 2021 Women Directors: Meet Margaret Byrne – “Any Given Day”
Margaret Byrne is an award-winning filmmaker. She directed and produced “Raising Bertie,” a feature documentary following the lives of three African American boys growing up in rural...
Cyntoia Brown Limited Series in Development at Starz, Santa Sierra Writing and Exec Producing
A limited series about Cyntoia Brown Long, a sex trafficking survivor who was sentenced to life in prison for murder, is in the works at Starz. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Santa Sierra is...
Trailer Watch: Deirdre Fishel’s New Doc Follows Four “Women in Blue”
The Minneapolis police department has repeatedly made national headlines since spring 2020, when George Floyd was murdered at the hands of law enforcement. Deirdre Fishel’s new documentary,...
Trailer Watch: Sabrina Van Tassel Unearths a Miscarriage of Justice in “The State of Texas vs. Melissa”
For 11 years, Melissa Lucio has been on death row: she was convicted for the murder of her two-year-old daughter, who died of blunt head trauma. But, according to Sabrina Van Tassel’s new...
TV Movie About Criminal Justice Reform Advocate Kemba Smith in the Works at BET
BET is teaming up with the Moving Picture Institute (MPI) to tell the story of criminal justice reform advocate Kemba Smith. A press release confirmed a feature-length TV movie is being developed,...
Trailer Watch: Cyntoia Brown Fights for Justice and Freedom in Netflix Doc “Murder to Mercy”
In 2004, 16-year-old Cyntoia Brown was sentenced to life in prison for murder. In self-defense, she shot a 43-year-old man who solicited her for sex, and was tried as an adult. It was clearly a major...
“Orange Is the New Black” Carrying On Its Work Via the Poussey Washington Fund
Netflix’s groundbreaking series “Orange Is the New Black” is coming to a close, with its seventh and final season premiering today, July 26. Although the show is ending, the...
Trailer Watch: Ava DuVernay’s “When They See Us” Spotlights Injustice of Central Park Five Case
“There is injustice happening here,” says an activist (Adepero Oduye, “Pariah”) in the trailer for Ava DuVernay’s Central Park Five story “When They See...
Director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre Talks About Her New Film “The Mustang”
To achieve a sense of realism in “The Mustang,” Laure de Clermont-Tonnere spent five years researching the U.S. prison system and animal therapy. Her new film focuses on an inmate, played by...
Trailer Watch: Sex Workers Receive Support in the Courtroom in “Blowin’ Up”
“No one in here wants to see you in jail,” a lawyer tells her client in “Blowin’ Up” — and that truly does appear to be the case. Stephanie Wang-Breal’s...
Zelda Perkins Speaks Out, Challenges the Legal System for Enabling Predators Like Harvey Weinstein
“It’s a smoking gun.” That’s how Robert Fox Ltd theater producer Zelda Perkins described the non-disclosure agreement she signed in 1998, after stepping down as Harvey Weinstein’s...
WIF and Los Angeles DA Take Action in Wake of Hollywood Abuse Revelations
Women in Film (WIF) and the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office are taking steps to support and protect victims of Hollywood’s rampant sexual harassment and abuse. According to reports from...