The Farm: Angola, USA

Thematic Crime and Punishment Curated by Joe Berlinger

“There are three things Angola will do to a man. Number one—it will bring you to the crossroads of a turning point. Number two—it will harden you. Number three—it will kill you.” So tells Eugene Tannehill, inmate of the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, known as “the Farm,” the largest maximum security prison in the United States. With six complexes on over 18,000 acres, it holds approximately 5,000 inmates, roughly 85 percent of whom will die there. Shot over the course of three years, the film follows six men sentenced to life imprisonment. With Wilbert Rideau, the best-known inmate and now a respected journalist, and warden Burl Cain as our guides through the cells, dormitories, hospital, cemetery, and work fields, we are offered an eye-opening tour of one of the most infamous prisons in America. Prison life at Angola, as seen through the subtle revelations of inhabitants who may never again experience freedom, bears an uncanny resemblance to plantation life.  ST

Q&A following screening

Directors

Liz Garbus, Jonathan Stack

Producers

Liz Garbus, Jonathan Stack

Editors

Mona Davis, Mary Manhardt

Cinematographers

Samuel Henriques, Bob Perrin

Release Year

1998

Festival Year

2018

Country

United States

Run Time

93 minutes