Downs Brothers Documentary sample clip

Documentary sample of work by The Downs Brothers.

In July & August of 2005 Alex Downs and McPherson Downs were invited behind the walls of Angola Prison in Louisiana to tell the redemptive stories of Prisoners who found spiritual healing while serving life terms for murder, armed robbery and abduction. The Downs' were commissioned by Norm Mintle and the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church to co-direct, edit and post produce a documentary about prisoners who have undergone conversion at the prisons bible college.

During post production of the doucmentary, Mr. Mintle and the Church asked Alex to edit and post produce and mix the concert video of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir which performed at Angola.

Angola State Prison is a strange place. At times looking more like a state park with 5 college campus' spread among an 18,000 acre working farm, some of Louisiana's most notorious felons are housed here, 85% of which will die behind bars.

A controversial bible college funded by conservative Christians is housed here and offers the prisoner willing to surrender himself to Christ the opportunity to educate himself and earn freedoms inside the prison to help other men through Christian principals.

The grounds of Angola are steeped in blood and ghosts.

The Prison was built on an old slave-breeding plantation that became the first for-profit prison in the nation after the abolition of slavery. Once considered America's bloodiest penitentiary, Angola underwent its religious makeover in 1995 under the direction of Warden Burl Cain, another controversial figure with ties to the conservative Christian cause.

The Emmy award winning film director, Alex Downs, teamed up with his brother, fine artist and filmmaker, Mc Pherson Downs, to focus a secular eye on the religious conversion of inmates behind the bars of this "greatest prison church in the world."

This is a sample clip from their work at the prison.

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[TheCfrazier]

Modern day slavery!

[hmorganman]

It was no accident that a generation ago we saw this explosion in prison building. The authorities know by 2nd and 3rd grade how many prisons to build. By that time the behavior is so warped that only tremendous reorientation can salvage it...but it cand be saved.

[hmorganman]

How did we, black people, go from building magnificent civilizations where jails and prisons were unheard of to what we have become? The answer is easy. We stopped being the Children of the Sun...The people of the Light. What is the light? The Light is Knowledge. Knowledge not any religion was and is our God.

[vonnoni]

its coming right for us.

[JurisArcane]

Yeah religion is all fine and dandy at Angola, as long as you're a Christian. Burl Cain enforces his religious beliefs on the inmates. He is liar, a thief, and a piece of trash. He belongs behind the bars, not running them. He's already been in contempt of a federal court. It's a George Wallace-style mini state. with modern slavery. The inmates there are constantly denied their rights. That's why many of them are innocent, and still there. You think about that before you say how great it is.

[constantlythinkin]

Eugene Tanniehill was at my Church Retreat Wed-Sat for a Thanksgiving retreat, and boy, was hsi testimony POWERFUL.

[3in1god]

How awesome! awesome! awesome! is our kind forgiving Lord! Hallelujah! How can people not believe!

[mrsdicaprio22]

Hey. At da Angola museum dats where dey house old Louisiana's electric chair at. Dey used 2 call it Old Sparky. Dey used 2 use it but dey don't use it anymo. Dey stopped usin it back n 1991 I think. Na dey do da lethal injection.

[brandnewlover32]

very good uplifting video.

I live there and when you say Angola people pic all the stuff that has happened in the past and not what really goes on there today which is alot of praising and good changes happening.

Very good footage of Sugar Lake in the beginning also :)

[lbr7]

tht place is crazy i was there yesterday on a school trip