Solitary

Solitary

HDCS/ES
Director:Kristi Jacobson
Length:81 minutes
Genre:Document

Panorama

Director: Kristi Jacobson

Soundproof solitary confinement in a two by three metre cell, 23 hours a day, seven days a week. Food is served through a narrow opening in the steel door. An hour a day of "exercise" in a small guarded cage with handcuffs and chained feet. This is life in the supermax Red Onion – the highest security prison in America. The documentary captures the horrific sounds and oppressive atmosphere of the daily prison routine. Prisoners facing the prospect of decades or a lifetime in these conditions speak directly to the camera, as do the guards, whose prospects in life are also not especially attractive. Is the criminal justice system in the United States broken? And what effects do loneliness and isolation have on people's mental health?

Length: 81 min

Year: 2016

Country of origin:

  • United states of America

Panorama

Director: Kristi Jacobson

Soundproof solitary confinement in a two by three metre cell, 23 hours a day, seven days a week. Food is served through a narrow opening in the steel door. An hour a day of "exercise" in a small guarded cage with handcuffs and chained feet. This is life in the supermax Red Onion – the highest security prison in America. The documentary captures the horrific sounds and oppressive atmosphere of the daily prison routine. Prisoners facing the prospect of decades or a lifetime in these conditions speak directly to the camera, as do the guards, whose prospects in life are also not especially attractive. Is the criminal justice system in the United States broken? And what effects do loneliness and isolation have on people's mental health?

Year: 2016

Country of origin:

  • United states of America