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| Virginia Film Festival’s ‘16 Bars’ displays creative abilities of inmates |
| By cavalierdaily.com- Dan Goff |
| Published: 11/02/2018 |
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Sam Bathrick’s documentary “16 Bars” opens with a shot of one of Richmond’s most famous and controversial monuments — a statue of Robert E. Lee on horseback, perched on a pedestal looming over Monument Avenue. Then the camera pans over top of the monument, moving into the city itself, and a rap song bursts to life in the background. It’s an angry track, and rightfully so, describing the experiences of underprivileged black people and their myriad struggles. The film shifts to its first human subject — a black man talking about his early life in the city, his story mirroring much of the lyrics of the rap song. The man’s name Teddy appears onscreen, along with the words “Released from prison four days ago.” The audience doesn’t know it yet, but Teddy is also the frustrated, overwhelmed man shouting in the rap track. “16 Bars,” one of the featured films of the Virginia Film Festival’s Race in America Series, follows four current and former inmates of Richmond City Justice Center — Anthony and Garland, both awaiting trial, De’Vonte, soon to be released and the recently-released Teddy. The four men vary in age, situation and even race — Garland is the only white inmate whose story receives in-depth depiction — but they are tied together by the common thread of the jail’s recording studio and Todd “Speech” Thomas, the man at its center. Read More. |
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