Beyond Walls is an organizing initiative that uses documentary films to define and amplify what prison industrial complex (PIC) abolition means, and inspires people to imagine and take action toward a world without policing. Beyond a goal of simply changing hearts and minds, these five short films empower communities with concrete tools and actions they can take to help create a world without police and prisons.
The legacy of prisons and policing is built atop a long history of reinforcing oppressive social and economic practices levied by police officers, guards, ICE officers, and others enforcing state violence. Beyond Walls sheds light on the human spirit that cannot be contained by the carceral system. These films lift up stories of resistance through organizing, maintaining relationships with loved ones, and storytelling that help us demonstrate an abolitionist imagination.
We believe that power emanates from the ground up, and that grassroots leaders and directly impacted people should hold the power to determine what stories are told and what films are funded to serve their movements. Beyond Walls was curated by: Center for Political Education, Critical Resistance, MPD150, and Survived + Punished.