Every Friday night, former inmates and their loved ones get together at KPFT, a listener-sponsored community radio in downtown Houston, to create The Prison Show, a radio program that caters to prisoners and the families they have left behind. The show keeps prisoners connected with the outside world and allows families to call in and leave messages for prisoners who are listening. In addition, the radio produces a show with live coverage whenever there is an execution in Texas, airing an interview with the condemned prisoner. Since 1980, the show has unveiled the reach of the United States penal system on both the inmates within it and the broader American society.
Biography:
Gabriella Kessler is a French-American filmmaker. Her first feature documentary, Braddock America, co-directed with Jean-Loïc Portron, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in the ACID selection, and was selected in a dozen film festivals. Gabriella also works as an editor, and has edited documentaries for Canal Plus and Arte, most recently about Robert De Niro. Gabriella has made short films for Etsy, BurdaStyle, Dowser, and the French-American Foundation, among others, and has worked on documentaries for Pennebaker-Hegedus Films, Sundance Channel, and Arte.
Constance Ortuzar is a producer. Since 2019, she has produced a dozen documentaries focused on history, culture, or society, broadcast on French and international channels. Her most recent productions include "Chine, rêves et cauchemars", "Nos restaurants, une grande histoire française" and "Infirmières, notre histoire".
Thibault Dufour is a Franco-American producer and director who specializes in communication for development. Convinced that visual storytelling can amplify constructive initiatives and raise awareness, he co-founded the Check-in Films production company, which has produced over 600 projects for institutional and commercial markets.
