Nance Ackerman ⋅ Ariella Pahlke ⋅ Teresa MacInnes | CANADA

78 min

In Partnership with OPIRG

Bianca, Treena, Laura, and Caitlin are a stark reflection of the troubling worldwide tendency to criminalize and imprison the most vulnerable in society—those most affected by poverty, addiction, childhood trauma, and mental illness.

Together with long-time prisoners’ rights advocate Kim Pate and others, these women collaborate with the filmmakers to answer a deceptively simple question: What would you have needed to avoid incarceration? Through art, photography, filmmaking, and poetry, the women inside envision a more ideal world on the outside.

Their creative agency emerges as a force that empowers them to chart the course of their own lives, and they become increasingly engaged in making Conviction—not another ‘broken prison’ film, but rather a ‘broken society’ film.

Conviction takes us on a raw and cinematic journey, while making the impassioned argument that we would do better to create communities that heal and support our most vulnerable, rather than punish them further.

Time: 7:30pm
Venue: The Drop-In Centre
Tickets: $20/PWYC
Event: Talkback with filmmaker Teresa MacInnes & Emily O’Brien (Founder of Cons and Kernels), moderated by Chris Cowie (Community Justice Initiatives)

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OPENING NIGHT PARTY: 
Join us after Conviction to talk doc and kick off the festival in style. 
Time: 9:00-12pm
Venue: Red Brick Cafe
Tickets: FREE with a festival ticket or pass!