“’We’re More Afraid of What Happens When We Stop Filming’”: Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman on The Alabama Solution

When Andrew Jarecki (HBO’s The Jinx, Capturing the Friedmans) and Charlotte Kaufman (a producer on The Jinx, Part Two) first stepped inside the secretive Alabama prison system they were there to shoot a revival meeting — an uplifting event that church ministries hold in prison yards throughout the state. What they stumbled upon instead was a far different story, one of horrific abuse, sweeping coverups and even murder at the hands of those charged to enforce the law. Making ample use of the evocative footage shot over six years on contraband phones by the incarcerated men who risked their lives to participate in this film, The Alabama Solution unspools in nail-biting real time, which gives the film a wrenching, can’t-look-away immediacy. The approach gives the film a refreshing feeling — that these human beings whose rights have been systematically violated for years, often decades, are finally in charge of the narrative and of their own lives. Filmmaker spoke with Jarecki and Kaufman during this year’s SCAD Savannah Film Festival, where the pair participated in a post-screening Q&A on October 28th, and also on the Docs to Watch Directors Roundtable the following day. The Alabama Solution is currently streaming on HBO.

To read my interview visit Filmmaker magazine.