CAM is pleased to partner with the annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival to present films that explore the world of contemporary art through a cinematic lens. As a complement to Hajra Waheed’s exhibition, this film program explores liberatory possibilities in creative expression that transcend limitations of prison. The films express the value of agency, communal healing, and solidarity for justice beyond incarceration.

This event is free and open to the public and includes complimentary popcorn and refreshments for purchase. Doors open at 6:30 pm. Click here to register.

What These Walls Won’t Hold (2023), directed by Adamu Faye Chan, 39 min.

Set against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic at San Quentin State Prison, What These Walls Won’t Hold chronicles how people came together beyond the separations created by incarceration to respond to this crisis. The film is shot from the perspective of filmmaker Adamu Chan, who was incarcerated at San Quentin during the height of the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020.

Master of Light (2022), directed by Rosa Ruth Boesten, 85 min.

George Anthony Morton, a classical painter who spent ten years in federal prison, travels to his hometown to paint his family members. Going back forces George to face his past in his quest to rewrite the script of his life.