The film How to Make Money Selling Drugs sent shockwaves through the nation back in 2013. It gave us an unforgettably disturbing insight into how the “War on Drugs” is quite literally a war against people.
Now the film’s director, Matthew Cooke, is back. And his new film is taking on the prison industrial complex.
Survivors Guide to Prison is a chilling exposé of the criminal justice system in America, told through the eyes of its victims and narrator Matthew Cooke.
It’s executive produced by Adrian Grenierand Susan Sarandon, and will feature Harry Belafonte, Deepak Chopra, Russell Simmons, Michelle Alexander, Tom Morello, and Brandon Boyd, to name but a few.
The Survivors Guide to Prison exposes the horror of the criminal justice system in a big way. It’s going to cover every step of the process, from the moment of arrest, to incarceration, to (potential) release. Make no mistake. This is not just a film — it’s an act of political resistance, and it’s striking the root.
It’s also risky business. As you might expect, there are certain “interests” who wouldn’t like this film to see the light of day.
It’s part of the reason why the film is going to be crowd-funded. The film will not be funded by corrupt corporations or governments who want to water-down its message. It’s completely in our hands now.
This is as real as it gets.
Power in numbers speaks much louder than a handful of celebrities in the movement for deep political change.
Last week Matthew Cooke called on all of us to help fund the film and make sure it gets seen by everybody:
My ideal scenario would be 2 million people donating 5 cents each, because that would mean 2 million people were invested in changing this broken system. And that would make it happen.
Anything you can afford – a dime, a dollar or more – represents your heart’s participation in this movement to reform criminal justice.
Your support isn’t just about this movie. It’s about a movement to radically reform the criminal justice system which so desperately needs our help.
My hope is this film can be one of the focal points in the sea change already underway.
If you do nothing else today, take a minute and contribute at the donation page. Deep political change isn’t caused by lone saviors — rather, it’s all the thousands of individual actions by ordinary people that, taken together, create an unstoppable momentum.
Every action, no matter how small. Every minute we spend working and sharing. Every dollar we invest. This is what it’s going to take to fight a system that seeks to enslave us.
Let’s get active.
Let’s make this happen.
Check out the video below and head over to the donation page.