Register to receive a link and password that will grant access to the films throughout the day on Thursday, December 30.

Please note this is not a live event.

The Sentence explores the devastating consequences of mass incarceration and mandatory minimum drug sentencing through the story of Cindy Shank, a mother of three young children serving a 15-year sentence in federal prison for her tangential involvement in a Michigan drug ring years before. A lyrical, intimate story documented over 10 years by Cindy's younger brother, filmmaker Rudy Valdez, The Sentence follows Cindy’s struggles to be present in her children's lives from behind bars and her daughters' experiences growing up without their mother at home, while her husband, parents and siblings fight for her release before the last months of the Obama administration's Clemency Project.

Watch the trailer →

📖 Our tradition is to conclude each event with a poetry reading, so we encourage you to read poems from our current issue after watching the films.

Poetry from the December 2021 / January 2022 issue →

🙏 A special thanks to Rudy Valdez, Park Pictures, and HBO for making this virtual screening possible!