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“We’re Alive,” a documentary following the lives of inmates at the California Institute for Women, was produced by a group of UCLA students in the 1970s. In preparation for a screening of the film at the Billy Wilder Theater in January, the UCLA Film and Television Archive released a series of blog posts highlighting key takeaways from the story and its creation. Read them at the links below.
Blogs
“We're Alive”: The State as Great Big-armed Mother
Rox Samer discusses the film, the active role of incarcerated women in its production, and its “critique of the myth of rehabilitation.” Read Samer’s blog.
Interview: “We're Alive” and Experiences of Incarceration at CIW
Robbie Hall and Doris Roldan share their reflections on the film after serving decades at the California Institution for Women. Read the interview.
“The Whole System”: “We’re Alive” and Feminist Anti-carceral Struggles
Beth Capper discusses the film, “a riotous, tender, and politically incisive exploration of women’s incarceration.” Read Capper’s blog.