Phil Collins’ galvanising documentary examines the U.S. prison system through the lens of house music, telling the story of a public art project and anti-incarceration dance party in Lower Manhattan.
Collins joins with Black queer artists and prison abolition activists to create and chronicle this temporary communal space, and its mission of exuberant survival. Bring Down the Walls is a loud cry against mass incarceration, a showcase of nightlife in downtown NYC, and a joyous call for equity on the dance floor and beyond.
Country: Germany; USA / Runtime: 88 min. / Language: English / Filmed at: Firehouse, Engine Company 31, New York City, May 2018; Sing Sing Correctional Facility, Ossining, NY, April 2015 / Music: Larry Heard, Robert Owens & Cameron Holmes; Empress Of & Michael Austin; Figure Skater & King Tolen; Nguzunguzu & Cinthia Candelaria; Kyp Malone & Robert Pollock; MikeQ, Ian Isiah & Amanda Cruz; L’Rain, Morgan Wiley & Patrick Gordon / Voiceover: Robert Owens / Camera: César Martinez, Adam Newport–Berra, Downtown Community Television Center, Phil Collins, Siniša Mitrović / Sound Mix and Sound Design: Jochen Jezussek / Editor: Stefan Ramírez Pérez / Production: Shady Lane Productions / Producer: Siniša Mitrović / Director: Phil Collins / Commissioned by: Creative Time, New York, in partnership with The Fortune Society / Supported by: Fondation Phi pour l’art contemporain, Montréal QC.
The screening is realised in collaboration with the Slovenian Cinematheque.
