Film: The Prison Within, Screening and Filmmaker Discussion

Join us for a special screening of THE PRISON WITHIN, followed by panel discussion and Q & A with Katherin Hervey (director, producer, writer) and Troy Williams (cinematographer and film subject) and Erin Kenway (producer and executive producer). 

THE PRISON WITHIN follows the powerful stories of survivors of violent crime and prisoners incarcerated for murder as they participate in an innovative restorative justice program to heal the roots of their untreated traumas. The film is a journey into redemption and forgiveness inside the unlikely walls of San Quentin Prison.

Katherin Hervey is an artist and filmmaker whose work focuses on those of us who live in the margins but refuse to be marginalized. She is interested in what is hiding in the dark crevices and corners of the American landscape. Hervey was the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Shades of Contradiction, a nationally distributed arts and culture magazine dedicated to critical thinking and creative action. She has produced, directed and art-directed short documentary and narrative films, including The Cocktail Waitress for KCTS/PBS broadcast. THE PRISON WITHIN, her first feature film, sprung from her work as a Los Angeles Public Defender and volunteer prison college instructor, where she worked weekly with prisoners who had committed serious acts of violence and had been sentenced to die in prison. 

Hervey received her Bachelor's degree in Cross-cultural Communication in America from University of Washington and is a graduate of Vancouver Film School. She also holds a Juris Doctorate degree from Loyola Law School. Her mixed media artworks and creative fiction have been exhibited in galleries and published in online and print literary journals.

Troy Williams is a motivational speaker, actor, cinematographer, filmmaker and audio producer and Founder and Executive Director of Restorative Media. Williams served 25 years in juvenile and adult prison facilities.

While incarcerated, Williams became a certified paralegal, helped facilitate, participate and develop the Victim-Offender Education Group (VOEG) curriculum for Insight Prison Project, served as Executive Director of San Quentin's Restorative Justice Interfaith Roundtable, co-founded San Quentin’s financial literacy program and F.E.E.L. philosophy (Financial Empowerment Emotional Literacy) and developed a video production program, and was founder of the first ‘behind bars’ audio production program: the award-winning San Quentin Prison Report (SQPR). Williams spent the last seven years of his incarceration teaching his peers to produce audio and building the media lab now used by Ear Hustle.

Williams, after paroling in 2014, served on many community boards and councils, including the Alameda County’s Probation Chief’s Advisory Council, San Francisco District Attorney’s Formerly Incarcerated Advisory Board, Open Gate’s Men's Advisory Council, Oakland’s Public Safety and Services Oversight Commission (SSOC) and more. 

In 2018, Troy Williams was awarded a Soros Justice Fellowship where he is working to create a national multimedia platform and community engagement program that will help formerly incarcerated people document their lived experiences and engage the public.

Connect 

THE PRISON WITHIN - Website | Twitter | Facbook | Vimeo

Katherin Hervey - Website | Instagram 

Troy Williams - Website