This campaign is raising funds on behalf of California Prison Focus, a verified nonprofit. The campaign does not necessarily reflect the views of the nonprofit or have any formal association with it. All contributions are considered unrestricted gifts and can’t be specified for any particular purpose.
What?
On July 8th 2013, California prisoners launched the largest prison hunger strike in United States history.
Thirty thousand men—one quarter of all CA state prisoners—refused food in a united message against the use of indefinite solitary confinement. Many were willing to starve themselves to death and refused food for 60 consecutive days in defense of their basic human rights, such as access to sunlight and being able to hug their family.
“We prisoners of all races have united to force these changes for future generations,” Arturo Castellanos wrote from the Pelican Bay Security Housing Unit.
The U.N. Special Rapporteur defines solitary confinement for more than two weeks as a form of psychological torture, yet California routinely isolates its citizens for 10, 20, even 40 years—not for acts of violence but for possessing cultural symbols and political literature.
“It’s like being locked in your bathroom for decades,” many prisoners have said.
We need your support to tell this story of this historic human rights movement from the perspective of those on the front lines: the family members of the hunger strikers and those formerly incarcerated in solitary confinement.
Who?
My name is Lucas Guilkey, and I’m a documentary filmmaker based in Oakland, California. I am a graduate of Wesleyan University with a background in racial justice organizing and a decade of experience in award-winning documentary film production, direction, editing, and cinematography. I have spent the past year studying, building relationships, and making short videos on the California prisoner hunger strikes.
On my team I have multimedia journalist Salima Hamirani and emerging filmmaker Nazly Siadate, in addition to consultants, advisors, and collaborators from community organizations including Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, Critical Resistance, All of Us or None, and California Families to Abolish Solitary Confinement.
We are ready to hit the ground running this summer, filming in-depth interviews and important rallies, vigils, and other events across the state of California with a goal to have a rough cut by December.
Fundraising
Having already invested countless hours in pre-production and several thousand dollars on high-quality video, audio, and lighting equipment, this summer we will record interviews with family members, formerly incarcerated people, other solitary experts, prison officials, and other relevant parties.
We need your help to get us through the first round of production. We need to buy hard drives to store and back up the footage and gas money to transport us around the state from Crescent City to San Diego. Furthermore, we need to pay a base amount of living expenses for us to make this possible.
EXPENSES
Hard Drives – $1750
Transportation – $3500
Part-time Labor – $14,500
Misc Contracted Videography Services – $3850
Why?
In a world of sound bytes, this feature length documentary will allow us the time to more fully delve into the questions this movement has raised. Why and how is solitary confinement used in California prisons? What does the movement against it look like? And how did we get to the point where we’ve normalized a system of torture in our own backyards?
As a society that imprisons more people than any nation in history, how do we understand our own humanity?
This film takes the premise that, in a world with increasing inequality, militarization, incarceration, surveillance, deportation, and the criminalization of dissent, we must listen to the voices of those who have endured the most repressive form of social control–the solitary control unit, the prison within the prison–in order to imagine a new world based on humanity, dignity, and justice beyond prison walls.
Other Ways You Can Help
Whether you decide to go big, make a modest contribution, or just spread the word, we thank you for your support! (Please note: all donations are tax deductible.)
This story will not get told without you.
UPDATE: If you are more comfortable writing a check, rather than contributing on Indiegogo, you may make a check out to “California Prison Focus” and write “Dying for Sunlight” on the memo line. Please send to California Prison Focus, 1904 Franklin St, Suite 507, Oakland, CA 94612.