Beyond The Wall

Beyond the Wall captures “the powerful emotional, nancial and even spiritual challenges they face as they try to stay out of prison.”

​— WBUR Radio Boston

"Equal measures heartbreaking and inspirational, Beyond the Wall pulls back the curtain on the gritty reality of what it means to be a poor “ex-con” in America. Beyond the Wall presents its subjects in all their human complexity, forcing the viewer to see them as human beings worthy of our attention and compassion."

-Andrew Silverman Deputy Chief Counsel, Public Defender Division of the Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services (former)

"Beyond the Wall forces you to experience the overwhelming challenges that need to be overcome by returning citizens. Court personnel, judges and prosecutors should see Beyond the Wall to help them empathize and understand the support that is necessary to those they are sentencing."

-Carmen M. Ortiz United States Attorney District of Massachusetts

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Directed By
Jenny Phillips, Bestor Cram​
Runtime: 74 min
Rating: NR
DVDCat# PRDVD4011
UPC: 823857250929
​​Available Now
SRP: $24.95

GENRES: Documentary, Crime, Incarceration

Beyond the Wall offers a stirring portrait of life after prison, as it follows formerly incarcerated men who are attempting to rebuild their lives on the outside, with little support from our criminal justice system. The film reveals a reality that runs against the grain of conventional wisdom and established public policies governing reentry.

While recently released individuals navigate an anemic system of re-entry procedures in the institutions of the criminal justice system, the reality is that survival requires maneuvering through the informal and often chaotic world of the streets. These men have to knit together for themselves the very services and supports that the state re-entry system starkly lacks.
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To remain crime free and drug free after release, prisoners must relinquish their old lives and build new ones. Through personal stories of re-entry— including relapse, recovery and redemption— Beyond the Wall puts a human face on the social, economic and emotional barriers encountered by returning citizens. In bearing witness to their struggles, we are offered insights and hope for ways prison re-entry can be more successful.
Beyond the Wall humanizes the social, economic and emotional barriers encountered by citizens (and their families) returning to their communities following incarceration.