Fundraiser Film Screening and Panel Discussion (Virtual)

This event will be hybrid in-person AND virtual so we can engage with members of our communities near and far.

If you plan to participate in person, please click here.

In person: film will be shown at 2:00 pm PST, followed by a break (coffee, tea, snacks will be provided); panel discussion will start at 4:30 pm.

Virtual: ticket holders will be provided with a secure link to watch the film on their own time prior to the event. They will be given a link to participate in the livestream of the panel discussion at 4:30 pm PST.

"Since I Been Down" is a documentary film by award winning filmmaker, Gilda Sheppard. It tells the story of Kimonti Carter, a man sentenced to life without parole at the age of 18, as well as other individuals who embraced their time while incarcerated as a chance to truly improve themselves and work to better their communities.

From the film's website, "[Since I Been Down], told by the people who have lived these conditions, unravels intimate stories from interviews brought to life through archival footage, cinema verité discussions, masquerade, and dance , unravelling why children commit violent crime and how these children – now adults – are breaking free from their fate by creating a model of justice that is transforming their lives, our humanity and a quality of life for all our children."

Following the film screening, we will be joined by key individuals featured in the film for a panel discussion during which they will answer your questions about the film, incarceration, their current work and visions for the future, and more. Panelists include the filmmaker, Gilda Sheppard, Ginny Parham (founder of Families Shoulder to Shoulder), Kimonti Carter (former president of the Black Prisoners Caucus, freed after 25 years of incarceration), and Willie Nobles (longtime member of the Black Prisoners Caucus, freed after 25 years of incarceration).

This fundraising event is being sponsored by the Washington Poor People's Campaign and will also benefit another organization working toward prison reform, Families Shoulder to Shoulder. You can find more information about each of these groups at their websites, linked above.