Trust and Transformation: From Prison to Acceptance

Google Tech Talks
February 19, 2009

ABSTRACT

The Trust is a feature length documentary shot inside San Quentin State Prison and in surrounding Bay Area communities. The film is a character-driven story about the daily struggle of incarceration faced by three San Quentin inmates. After one man is released, the film follows him home as he attempts to re-integrate into society.

The film takes you inside San Quentin on a one-on-one journey with inmates in The National Trust Program, a re-socialization program in which life-term inmates mentor, train and prepare short-term inmates to become positive citizens. The Trust follows the men as they battle conflicts between the expectations of parole officers, spouses, children and friends.

The goal of The Trust is to start a national dialogue on the systemic effects of incarceration on communities across the country. In achieving this goal, Director and Producer Tamara Perkins has established extraordinary access through her relationships with the men of The Trust and the Warden and staff inside San Quentin. This project also captures a unique perspective on prison life through the use of an internal film crew, comprised of inmates trained in filmmaking through the San Quentin Media Project.

There has never been a documentary film done on this topic, let alone, with this depth into the souls of the inmates and their families. The film shows the psyche of the inmates and how they have to overcome their own demons, and society's, in order to survive and remain free from returning to prison.

Join us in a private, intimate viewing and unseen footage from inside San Quentin and discussions with the director and producer Tamara Perkins and Jesse Dana.

See the trailer at:
http://www.youtube.com/user/SQTrust

For more information, visit:
www.trustcommunity.org

Speaker: Tamara Perkins
Director/Producer

Tamara is an independent filmmaker focused on documentaries that inspire dialogue and inform the public and policy makers. Combining creativity, service and activism, Tamara started the film production company Apple of Discord Productions, which showcases the talent of women and minorities through tough, yet poignant subjects. She has produced policy-based initiative and instructional DVDs and narrative and documentary films such as Niroga, a touching look into a program reaching hundreds of incarcerated youth through Yoga. Her clients include National Policy trendsetters Van Jones with Green for All and Junious Williams with Urban Strategies.

Tamara Perkins' background working with children, youth and adults dealing with trauma enabled her transition into working with the men in San Quentin. Tamara had been working with The Trust in San Quentin for a year when she was asked to help tell their story. She has been afforded extraordinary access through her relationships with the men of The Trust as well as the Warden and prison staff.

Speaker: Jesse Dana
Cinematographer/Producer

Jesse Dana's interest in film began with the desire to affect positive social change through new media experiences. This led to his first feature in 2000, One Way Ticket, a story about the immigrant experience post dot com bust, which received a limited theatrical release. Jesse completed his BA in filmmaking from San Francisco State University. He has been at the lens of many commercial and corporate productions as well as compelling narrative work including the completion of two more feature films, Next to Die and Spot Check!, both of which currently in post-production. To see more of Jesse's work visit his website at www.jessedana.com.

Speaker: Dr. Garry Mendez
Dr. Garry A. Mendez, Jr. is an author, public scholar and community activist. He addresses issues confronting African American individuals, families and communities using culture and value-based leadership. He is the Executive Director and Founder of The National Trust for the Development of African-American Men, an organization utilizing practical and creative management to identify and address the problems facing African-American males, primarily focusing on areas of health, crime prevention, leadership train...

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[beefbonemusic]

This video is inaccurate. There are in fact over 30 teachers employed at San Quentin, 7 classrooms, 1 independent study teacher, 1 distance learning teacher, and more than 20 teachers who do cell-front teaching in the reception blocks and the gym, plus a full assessment and GED testing crew, and multiple college class offerings. Yesterday was the annual graduation ceremony in which 100 men received vocational, GED, high school and college certificates and degrees. You should have filmed that.

[cyborgtroy]

Be a patriot, don't spam.

And don't call the US America.

America is the continent.

[1skylimit]

Thanks for the info. I appreciate the honesty of someone who knows what they have witnessed.

[vNCAwizard]

Darn the low character count!

I was pleased to see that you use Wikipedia to bolster your intellect. Do you edit as well?

[vNCAwizard]

Well, I did read a good deal of the discussion, though much was of little value; mostly some jabbering about ethnic and cultural name calling and some cheap bravado. Maybe a few wolf tickets.

Observations are fine, if they are presented as either qualitative only (so sample size matters) or quantitative, in which case give us the number.

It is easy to talk past one-another, or spend time on a mutual mudslinging escapade. Harder is perhaps ignoring the mud, and concentrating on the issue.

[Ebdomos]

Didnt you read? I'm "Canadian and stupid! ha ha!"

My references are my observations, people I know, or the homeless I have conversed. It is not a well structured opinion, as I have not dedicated much of my faculty to the topic. As to this point as well, my opinions have slightly changed to a non opinionated, more open to the discussion of its affect on social culture.

Perhaps you could loan an opinion to me that wont cause me to have to continuously quote wikipedia?

[vNCAwizard]

Repeated review of the definition of philosophical fallacies does not win your argument. At best, it dismisses the arguments of others, where it would be best to interpret.

As to the detriment of cannabis, you assert the existence of same but, you do not cite.  Where are your references?

[Ebdomos]

Well, I guess that means I win the debate.

~Hooray~

[Tenatiouz]

You are Canadian and stupid! ha ha! It's already being legalized everywhere, so just shut up already. Wasting both our time, just speaking about rhetorics. Good Bye

[Ebdomos]

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An appeal to intellectual and mental stability or capability, or a reduction to the opposite (also known as an appeal to psychology), is an informal fallacy which asserts that the opposing party's argument is wrong or discreditable based upon an assumption, proven or unproven, of the opposing party's intelligence or mental stability.

...

You have gone through just about every genetic fallacy in the book. I have been respectful and nice, why cant you be too?

[Tenatiouz]

Did you go to college and where? What was your majors, when did you graduate highschool? Probably neither, and yet you talk about issues as if you've been studying them for years. People way better than you have already done the studies, so no one is going to let a little small time Canadian change their opinion on the 'War on Drugs'. I've seen more peoples lives destroyed by pills than any other drug in history. In fact alcohol and tobacco kills the most, marijuana kills 0 people/year.