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It's a Hard Truth Ain't It

Special Screenings

World Premiere

USA | 75 MINUTES | English |

IT'S A HARD TRUTH AIN'T IT

Documentary, Female Director(s), Tribeca Film Festival Alumni
It’s a Hard Truth, Ain’t It is an affecting and enlightening glimpse at the stories of thirteen incarcerated men imprisoned at the Pendelton Correctional Facility in Indiana. Over a weeklong workshop inside the prison, filmmaker Madeleine Sackler, who is also at Tribeca this year with O.G., a drama inspired by the work she did on this documentary, introduces the inmates to the art of filmmaking. She shows them movies they’ve never seen—Grizzly Man proves a particular highlight for the group—and provides them with camera equipment so that they can interview each other, offering them a platform to tell their own stories. In their resulting projects, the men candidly share their personal histories and provide accounts of the crimes they’ve committed. Their testimonies are visualized through animated sequences, illustrated by the gifted Yoni Goodman of Waltz with Bashir, providing the viewer with remarkable access into their inner worlds. The result is a complex and vivid tapestry of individual experiences that, when woven together, elucidate the shared narratives of the 2.2 million people currently in prison in the United States.

—Shayna Weingast.

After the screening: a conversation with the director and social justice advocates.

CAST & CREDITS

Directed by Madeleine Sackler

Madeleine Sackler is an Emmy®-winning director and producer based in New York City and Los Angeles. Sackler's films include 2010’s The Lottery, 2013’s Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus, and the upcoming Tribeca premieres O.G. and It's a Hard Truth, Ain't It.
Director
Madeleine Sackler, and thirteen men incarcerated at the Pendleton Correctional Facility in Pendleton, Indiana
Producer
Stacey Reiss, Madeleine Sackler
Cinematographer
Wolfgang Held
Editor
Leigh Johnson
Composer
Andrew Hollander
Executive Producer
Sharon Chang, Mark Steele
Animator
Yoni Goodman

CONTACTS

International Sales Contact
Nick Ogiony
Creative Artists Agency
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Phone: 424 288 2000
filmsales@caa.com
US Sales Contact
Nick Ogiony
Creative Artists Agency
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Phone: 424 288 2000
filmsales@caa.com
Print Source
Mark Steele
OG Film
Minneapolis, MN 55406
Phone: 612 868 8336
steelemark@gmail.com
Press Contact
Scott Feinstein
42West
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 212 413 0806
Scott.Feinstein@42west.net