
Choices of personal resistance define the accepted status quo.
ABOUT THE FILM:
The Quilters follows the daily lives of several men, spending most of its screen time inside the sewing room in a Level 5 maximum security prison in a small town in Missouri. As we follow several quilts from design to completion, audiences will come to know these men, witnessing their struggles, triumphs, and sense of pride as they create something beautiful in this windowless, sacred space, deep within the prison walls.
Our camera follows the quilters up close as they work individually on their creations and also captures the power of this group as a collective. The craft of quilting has been beautifully shot, with tight focus on the men’s hands, the sewing machines, the textures and colors of the fabrics, and the creative design of each quilt which is personalized for a foster child and gifted to them for their birthday.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER:
Jenifer McShane is an independent filmmaker committed to using film to bridge understanding. Her current film, The Quilters, follows a quilting group in a men's maximum prison in Missouri. Her last film, Ernie & Joe: Crisis Cops, won a Jury Award at SXSW, an Emmy for Outstanding Editing and is currently streaming on HBO. Jenifer spent four years visiting Bedford Hills Correctional Facility to make Mothers of Bedford, which reveals the impact of incarceration on jailed mothers and their children. Her first documentary (co-director), A Leap of Faith, follows the opening of a religiously integrated elementary school in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Choices of personal resistance define the accepted status quo.
ABOUT THE FILM:
The Quilters follows the daily lives of several men, spending most of its screen time inside the sewing room in a Level 5 maximum security prison in a small town in Missouri. As we follow several quilts from design to completion, audiences will come to know these men, witnessing their struggles, triumphs, and sense of pride as they create something beautiful in this windowless, sacred space, deep within the prison walls.
Our camera follows the quilters up close as they work individually on their creations and also captures the power of this group as a collective. The craft of quilting has been beautifully shot, with tight focus on the men’s hands, the sewing machines, the textures and colors of the fabrics, and the creative design of each quilt which is personalized for a foster child and gifted to them for their birthday.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER:
Jenifer McShane is an independent filmmaker committed to using film to bridge understanding. Her current film, The Quilters, follows a quilting group in a men's maximum prison in Missouri. Her last film, Ernie & Joe: Crisis Cops, won a Jury Award at SXSW, an Emmy for Outstanding Editing and is currently streaming on HBO. Jenifer spent four years visiting Bedford Hills Correctional Facility to make Mothers of Bedford, which reveals the impact of incarceration on jailed mothers and their children. Her first documentary (co-director), A Leap of Faith, follows the opening of a religiously integrated elementary school in Belfast, Northern Ireland.