Where are you?

When THE FARM was broadcast in 1998 it was the highest rated documentary on A & E. If I remember correctly, it got about a 3.0 Nielsen rating which nowadays would be phenomenal, but even then was quite amazing. Over the years, the film was shown again and again; resold to A & E, broadcast on Starzz and the Sundance Channel, distributed throughout the world. The film is used in school curricula, thousands of dvds have been purchased at Angola’s Prison Museum gift store alone and it is iconic amongst people who work in our criminal justice system.

Indeed, over the years countless numbers of people have seen the film and uniformly they ask the same question; Whatever happened to the men in THE FARM. “Did George raise the $3000 for his appeal?”, “Did Ashanti get to take that bath?”, “Did the Governor ever sign Bishop Tanniehill’s pardon?” Finally, we’re finishing the THE FARM: 10 DOWN and we can answer everyone’s questions.  The film is airing on National Geographic, but the challenge is how do we let all the people who saw THE FARM know it’s happening?

And to be honest, we don’t have a giant promotional budget.  We didn’t have enough of  window for a film festival launch at major festival like Sundance or Tribeca.  We don’t have a celebrity backing its release.

The issue is no less important.  In fact, there are over a half million more people incarcerated today then ten years ago.  This despite the lowering of crime.  DNA has become a big part of the legal lexicon, but in fact, only 250 so inmates have been cleared through its use.

Left with the need for careful and conscious reflection greater then ever and less obvious attention for the sequel then the original, we are getting creative. Thank goodness for the internet, which was only in its beginning stages in 1998 and is now an integral part of our lives. It offers opportunities to reach people in ways we had only begun to imagine then.  Now, certainly, the fact that you can reach everyone makes it all the harder to be seen through the clutter and still, getting the right database, the right ‘assets’ and the right message is required if we even stand a prayer.

Tomorrow we are premiering THE FARM: 10 DOWN in Angola Prison. It is an incredible chance to share the excitement of this film release with the prison community who allowed their stories to be told over the years.

This is the beginning…