Director: Adamu Taye Chan Producers: Christian Lee Collins, Pete Nicks
Description:
Set against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic at San Quentin State Prison, What These Walls Won’t Hold chronicles the organizing and relationships of people who came together beyond the separations created by incarceration, to respond to this crisis. The film is shot from the perspective of filmmaker Adamu Chan, who was incarcerated at San Quentin during the height of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.
Biography:
Adamu Chan is a filmmaker, writer, and community organizer from the SF Bay Area who was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison during one of the largest COVID-19 outbreaks in the country. He produced numerous short films while incarcerated, using his vantage point and experience as an incarcerated person as a lens to focus the viewer’s gaze on issues related to social justice. In 2021, he was a recipient of the Docs in Action Film Fund through Working Films to produce and direct his film What These Walls Won't Hold. Adamu draws inspiration and energy from the voices of those directly impacted, and seeks to empower them to reshape the narratives that have been created about them through film.
Christian Lee Collins is known for Gaming Wall Street and Crow Country: Our Right to Food Sovereignty.
Pete Nicks is an Emmy Award-winning director known for his immersive camera work and vérité style. He won this year's Sundance Directing prize for his second documentary, The Force. He previously directed the critically acclaimed documentary The Waiting Room,, the first in a trilogy of timely, immersive docus exploring the interconnected narratives of health care, criminal justice and education in Oakland, CA.
