Experiencing Interruptions?

Life After Life

After decades behind bars, three men set out to prove success can lie on the other side of tragedy. As their stories unfold over weeks, months and years, the precarious nature of freedom after incarceration in America is revealed.

  • Tamara Perkins
    Director
  • Tamara Perkins
    Producer
  • Jesse Dana
    Cinematographer | Co-Producer
    Dolores, Inequality for All
  • Kevin Jones
    Editor | Associate Producer
    Lion in the House
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 11 minutes 15 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 26, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    430,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    HD
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Tamara Perkins

Tamara Perkins is a change maker focused on documentaries that inspire dialogue, empower and provide voice for vulnerable communities. She founded Apple of Discord Productions and developed programs such as the Wisdom Project and San Quentin Media Project that train at-risk youth and incarcerated men in filmmaking as a tool for transformation. She has spoken on prison and human rights issues at agencies and universities such as Equal Justice Society, Houston Institute, and Stanford Law. Tamara was awarded NCCD’s Media for a Just Society Award in 2009, and presented the TEDx talk ‘Life After: Embracing our Common Humanity’ in 2013.

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Director Statement

Several incidents and experiences led me to creating Life After Life. Perhaps more poignant than others, was living through the experience of looking into the barrel of a gun three times before I turned 18. Everyday I am thankful that when the young man held a gun to my head he had not yet come to the point where he could easily pull the trigger. Today he is in Joliet State Prison, serving life for first-degree murder. Looking back I often wish that I had been able to say or do something to change his path.

Another life-changing event for me occurred at age twenty-one when my cousin, whom I loved dearly, killed herself. That was the most devastating day of my life. Her death led me to work with Kara Grief Support where I changed my career from the corporate world to nonprofit and community development, including filmmaking, teaching Yoga and meditation, grief support counseling, and eventually working with the men in San Quentin State Prison who would later ask me to tell their stories.

The delicate nature of our place in the world became most apparent to me after I joined the ranks of the 1-in-4 women with an incarcerated loved one. This story became personal to me in a way that I could previously only imagine. The men that I have met through my work in San Quentin State Prison have inspired me and given me hope. Harrison and Noel who worked tirelessly to transform their own lives in spite of their incarceration, are incredible role models as healed people, who heal people.

Our goal has always been to create a compelling, honest, and inspirational film that will be enjoyed by domestic and international audiences. My dream is that Life After Life will become a vehicle for catalyzing grassroots, statewide, and national advocacy movements while generating a national dialogue about the net effects of a corrections system that doesn’t put healing people and communities first. I truly believe that our stories matter.