The Strike, a documentary featuring solitary confinement survivors that tells the story of a generation of California men who endured decades of solitary confinement, is among the winners of an Anthem Award. The Anthem Awards honor the purpose & mission-driven work of people, companies and organizations worldwide, and The Strike received recognition in the Human & Civil Rights Documentary or Film Awareness category.
The Strike, from filmmakers JoeBill Muñoz and Lucas Guilkey, documents the largest prison hunger strike in U.S. history in 2013. Nearly 30,000 incarcerated people went on a hunger strike that spread into a feat of unity across California prisons, and took place at California’s Pelican Bay State Prison and other state prisons. It chronicles how incarcerated individuals, many held in solitary confinement for decades, organized the strike to protest their conditions and forced the state to reform its policies. The film uses testimonies from the strikers and other footage to tell the story of the protest and its impact on solitary confinement practices.
The documentary serves to illustrate the harsh reality of solitary confinement in California, where individuals were held in isolation for decades, leading to devastating psychological and physical effects. It also highlighted the power of the collective action as incarcerated people at Pelican Bay organized, which ultimately led to the state reforming its policies on solitary confinement.
You can visit the website for The Strike —>>>https://www.thestrikefilm.com/
You can also read more about The Strike documentary in “Documentary “The Strike” Reveals the Humanity of People in Solitary Confinement—and the Possibility of Change” from Solitary Watch. Solitary Watch is a national nonprofit newsroom whose mission is to uncover the truth about solitary confinement and other harsh prison conditions in the United States by producing high-quality investigative journalism, accurate information and analysis, and authentic storytelling from both sides of prison walls.
