Directed by: Ben LearThey Call Us Monsters Official Trailer 1 (2016) - Documentary In this fascinating, deeply human exploration of the blurring line between. Antonio: Fear of trust, fear of being alone, fear of public speaking, and fear of vulnerability,, Juan: Death, loneliness, darkness, and love. While the gravity of their crimes is great, these young men are still simply teenagers. All three boys have, ------------------------------------------. INDEPENDENT LENS: THEY CALL US MONSTERS 10 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). "They Call Us Monsters" looks at societal issues such as the processing of juvenile offenders ages 14-16 in the criminal justice system as adults. December 21, . I definitely believe teens that see unforeseen trauma in there childhood should certainly be given a serious second chance, their brains are not fully developed. To pass the time, they sign up for a screenwriting class and collaborate on a short film about their lives, including Juan's unrequited love for his childhood friend, Abigail. Even the JC, listening on the other end of the line, is visibly moved. 83%. [2][3], The documentary follows three young juvenile offenders who signed up for a screenwriting class with producer Gabriel Cowan as they await their respective trials in Los Angeles County. He wrote that he is grateful so many people have embrace[d] our story and join the prison reform movement. While in prison, he is going to college fulltime and making strong grades. Other stories Id like to tell I look around at the people around me and I see great stories of personal achievementsor overcoming struggles. Juan:Yes, I saw the movie, before release. A part of PBS, America's Home for Documentaries, We thought viewers of Ben Lears They Call Us Monsters may be interested in hearing from the young men featured in the film. Premiered May 22, 2017 Directed by Ben Lear Three young violent offenders learn screenwriting in one of LA's high-security detention centers. Read more, DIVERSITY, EQUITY and INCLUSION Juan tells Cowan and his classmates how he was going to give the real Abby a poem but he never got the chance. Watch They Call Us Monsters (2016) full movie online for free Legislators debate legislation that allows for adult charges for juvenile offenders. Publication Information. Seems like maybe youre afraid of the question.. To pass the time, they sign up for a screenwriting class and collaborate on a short film about their lives, including Juan's unrequited love for his childhood friend, Abigail. Antonio Hernnde4490 (@antoniohernandez0220)s videos with sonido original - Antonio Hernnde4490 | TikTok. Theres not only capacity for change, theres also that oft-forgotten glimmer of a thing called hope. In the past few years, however, officials in many states and in Washington, D.C., have been rethinking the clampdown. . Arrested at 16, Jarad faces 200 years-to-life for four attempted murders; Juan, also arrested at 16, faces 90-to-life for first-degree murder; Antonio was arrested at 14 and faces 90-to-life for two attempted murders. As they note on their site, the mission of InsideOUT Writers is to reduce the juvenile recidivism rate by providing a range of services that evolves to meet the needs of currently and formerly incarcerated youth and young adults. Not only do they offer creative writing classes to offer these young people the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully re-join the community, but they have instituted an Alumni program that supports former students upon their release. Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Review: They Call Us Monsters, but Do We Deserve Life Sentences? Log in to follow creators, like videos, and view comments. Their convictions range from charges of attempted murder to first degree murder, and slowly each boys character and the story of how he ended up in the compound is revealed. If they hadnt wanted to write a love story, there wouldnt be this film, but they decided to write a film, their film, about a young boy falling in love, when they could have written about violence or gangs. Thats whendirector Ben Learknew he had a film to make. Prior to his imprisonment, Antonio was an honor roll student and he seemed like the perfect student up until his arrest. Though not everyone would be lucky enough to benefit from this process a whole other story some people who were serving life sentences for offenses they had committed as youths suddenly found themselves eligible for release. Juan:Yeah, Jarad and I were tripping out on how many times we came out shaking hands. As Lear describes it, nothing could have prepared him for what he encountered once he walked into the prison: this was a classroom full of kids these were teenagers that are so obviously that age. His answer Yes, but inside the jail is another jail articulates the Sartre-esqe morass of life inside a broken system, as do the ubiquitous signs on the walls that read "NO! with lengthy sentences, regardless of the fact that, as adolescents, they have no ability to see beyond the orbit of their own experience. Do they deserve a second chance? Jarad Nava and Antonio Hernandez (Hernandez is released partway . braids together footage from the class with clips from the fictional film that the teens wrote. Associated Press articles: Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. She weeps as she talks about the harrowing moment in which she thought she was going to die. The teenage girl Jarad shot is paralyzed and in a wheelchair. To their victims, theyre monsters. Antonio Hernandez (@antoniohernandez5046)s videos with sonido original - Antonio Hernandez | TikTok. Juan, Jarad, and Antonio, all between 14 and 16, face decades in prison. To some, they're kids. From the film, I learned many juveniles convicted of serious crimes are tried as adults and kept in a separate compound. They show Cowan a chair in a cell and Antonio says, King George sat here, and Juan laughs and makes a fart joke. To pass the time, they sign up for a screenwriting class and collaborate on a short film about their lives, including Juan's unrequited love for his childhood friend, Abigail. Director Benjamin Lear . Halfway through the class, Antonio returns to juvenile court and is released with time served but, back in the neighborhood, quickly falls into the same patterns of drug use and gang life that led to his incarceration in the first place. Stars: Nora Kirkpatrick, Nate Corddry, Ernesto Hernndez, Allegra Acosta, Joel Anderson, Richard Bloom, Steven Fernandez, Ernesto Hernandez, Scott Budnick, Mike Camacho, Antonia Casas R, Yesenia Castro, Gabriel Cowan, Darrell J Edwards Jr, Darrell J Edwards Sr, Juan Gamez, Kath Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News. These are perfect examples of the way the justice system has decided to treat young men who commit violent crimes as adults. Ya disponible en todas las plataformas digitales junto, as de esta manera fue llevado ala justicia y ser presentado ante los tribunales con el fin de que pague con crcel todos los crmenes cometidos/los angelitos que no hacen nada. Their convictions range from charges of attempted murder to first degree murder, and slowly each boy's character and the story of how he ended up in the compound is revealed. Because the prisoners became so vulnerable, I felt connected to them and their raw humanity in a way I did not expect given their crimes. All rights reserved. sonido original - Editorial Applehead. For his senior recital, Lear wrote and performed his folk-opera Lillian (about a man who travels to the great Pacific garbage patch to reclaim all hes lost) with a 20-piece orchestra and light show. Jarads victim describes waking up paralyzed, and the film shows her trying to navigate her apartment in a wheelchair. "Juan Gamez, Antonio Hernandez and Jara Nava are the youthful offenders at the heart ofa new documentary that follows their lives in a Los Angeles juvenile detention . That states legislature also eliminated the chance of life-without-parole sentences for all but a few juvenile offenders and made more young inmates eligible for early parole. 1091 Media. 5 Heartbreaking Facts From They Call Us Monsters Doc on Latino Teens Facing Life in Jail. In fact, since the human brain isnt fully developed until the age of 25, teens are less likely to understand risk and consequences, less able to resist peer pressure, which is relevant in deciding the level of sentence to impose for a crime one commits at, say, 15. I have worked in the juvenile system for 20 years. However, he re-entered prison after being tried as an adult for two robberies. To pass the time, they sign up for a screenwriting class and collaborate on a short film about their lives, including . What is the value of a life? These are young men who will be tried as adults for violent crimes and face decades, if not hundreds of years in adult jails. What would the victims think? , was created to rehabilitate, not to be punitive but it became a punitive system where the kids are getting punished for their trauma., Cowan, who also happens to be one of the films producers, is the first person to teach a screenwriting class with, InsideOUT Writers, a non-profit organization. Yes, they have a lot of free time on their hands, but that didnt guarantee theyd be comfortable writing back to us, to answer questions about their experience making the film and what theyve been up to since. The remark encapsulated the feeling I was left with after observing the film. Not just in the throes of puberty and adolescence but of self-discovery and coming of age.. He attended the Compound as part of InsideOUT Writers, an organization that uses creative writing programs as a way to aid in the rehabilitation of prison inmates. Download a copy of Jarad Navas complete handwritten letter. This article about a biographical documentary film is a stub. For Lear, who now sits on the InsideOUT Writers advisory board, the shift has been heartening. 2017. To see the short film, "Los," written by Juan, Jarad, and Antonio, visit InsideOUT Writers. The 2016 released documentary inspects the experience of three juvenile prisoners facing life time imprisonment in Los Angeles Juvenile Detention Centre. We incorporated that experience, the experience of telling someone you love them and how scary that is," says Cowan. The documentary "They Call Us Monsters" explored the life of three juvenile offenders, i.e. Antonio, Juan and Jarad are enrolled in a 20-week screenwriting course taught by Gabe Cowan, and through clips of their classes and the fictional scenarios they develop, "They Call Us Monsters" THEY CALL US MONSTERS, a documentary that follows three juvenile offenders, is explored with director Ben Lear. He went as research for a script, expecting to meet the kind of scary characters hed seen in the movies but instead, he found a classroom full of kids., When a kid arrives there, a lot of his baggage is temporarily stripped away, Lear said. The Film. 7.0 1 h 21 min 2016 X-Ray 16+. Another important area centers on the cognitive development and decision-making ability of minors in dangerous home environments. Director Ben Lear Stars Allegra Acosta Joel Anderson (archive footage) Richard Bloom (archive footage) Juan Gamez has close-cropped, black hair and a baby face that remains expressionless except when he smiles. A new documentary premiering at the Los Angeles Film Festival takes us inside the Compound, a high-security facility in the middle of Sylmar Juvenile Hall, where LA County houses their high-risk juvenile offenders. They Call Us Monsters. They're held in a special wing of the lockup reserved for teens who will be standing trial as adults. In other words, Lear does not gloss over what Jarad actually did to end up at Sylmar, yet the film questions both his draconian punishment and the way the system continually punishes low-income, mostly African-American and Latinx kids with lengthy sentences, regardless of the fact that, as adolescents, they have no ability to see beyond the orbit of their own experience. Receive a report. Without affect, the girl asks if hes in a detention center. View Notes - Film Review .docx from JS 152 at San Jose State University. You have to love it out of them, Cowan says. I saw the kids facing life and it broke my heart and changed my life, Budnick tells me over the phone. As a result of making They Call Us Monsters, his first film, Lear sits on the advisory board of InsideOUT Writers and is an aly member within the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, teaching a weekly writing class within the Compound and mentoring former juvenile offenders under reentry. that, according to Budnick, Cowan, Lear and other prison-reform policy advocates, differentiates the young person from the adult. To the system, theyre adults. All rights reserved. In California, the parole bill featured in Monsters ultimately passed in 2013. Maybe that journey toward remorse and responsibility is different for everyone. Dont loose HOPE and have FAITH, I agree with you 100% Patty. The law went into effect January 1, 2014. I dont know if its because I was acting like a fool. Jarad and Juan are currently serving the remainder of their sentence at Ironwood state prison. Available on iTunes Legislators debate legislation that allows for adult charges for juvenile offenders. You cannot punish trauma out of somebody. He approached fellow InsideOUT board member and founder of. It hit home because I grew up with a lot of Follow her on Twitter at @EmilyBeJordan. Director.. Monsters is a 2010 British science fiction horror film written and directed by Gareth Edwards in his feature film directorial debut. Antonio was being charged for 2 attempted murders and facing 90 years to life. The film was written in an InsideOUT Writers class taught by Gabriel Cowan which is featured in the documentary THEY CALL US MONSTERS directed by Ben Lear. Meanwhile, the boys wrote a screenplay, which their teacher, Gabriel Cowan, shot and edited into a 15-minute short, Los. The film-within-a-film structure of They Call Us Monsters replicates the repetitive nature of these very systemic contradictions that the boys face and endure, but in a way that allows for reflection as well as an understanding of the need for continued awareness and advocacy. This is precisely the case of the three main subjects of Lears documentary. The film follows three juveniles: Juan Gamez, Antonio Hernandez and Jarad Nava. Watch on. I got married to a beautiful amazing woman and we have two daughters, ones three, the second a [little] over one year. Juan, Jarad and Antonio, all young teens, face decades in prison. Add or change photo on IMDbPro Add to list More at IMDbPro Contact info Agent info Known for Los 8.5 Short Writer 2015 They Call Us Monsters 7.0 Self 2016 Credits Edit Writer1 Self1 IMDbPro Collapse below Writer Previous 1 Los writer Short 2015 IMDb Best of 2022 For more information, visit: Since rehabilitation programs continue to be underfunded, the recidivism rate isnt likely to go down. While the gravity of their crimes is great, these young men are still simply teenagers. It is available for streaming on both Netflix and iTunes. 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