Well Contested Sites is a 13- minute dance/theater film that explores the issue of mass incarceration and the complexity of experience faced by those who are incarcerated in jails/prisons. The film is a collaboration between a group of men who were previously incarcerated, Bay Area performing artists, choreographer Amie Dowling and filmmaker Austin Forbord. The piece was created and filmed on Alcatraz Island.
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The title stems from the idea that a prisoner’s body is a ‘contested site’; its presence or absence, its power and its vulnerability are all intensely realized in jails and prisons–institutions that emphasize control, segregation, solitude and physical containment.
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Several of the artists/performers in the film have been incarcerated; by drawing on these men’s physical memories Well Contested Sites connects audiences to the impact of incarceration. Using a metaphorical, movement-based aesthetic, the film explores the effect of incarceration on individuals and suggests that the imagination can thrive even while the body is behind bars.
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You can watch the film here.
