While the gravity of their crimes is great, these young men are still simply teenagers. By what name was They Call Us Monsters (2016) officially released in Canada in English? Weve posted their answers below, and also included the original letters if youd like to see an authentically handwritten response. I appreciate the support and open-mindedness.. They Call Us Monsters doesnt shy from the consequences of the violence the prisoners were accused of (we meet a paralyzed victim of a shooting), even as it suggests that the system from a state senator who warns of mini-Charlie Mansons to lawyers resigned to stiff sentences proceeds almost mechanically. You can look at that and say, OK, theyre obviously sociopaths. But what I would encourage people to do is peel a layer off, go a little bit deeper and entertain the idea that maybe theyre temporarily sociopaths, Lear said. (SB 260 calls this diminished culpability.), Obviously, there are no easy answers. It is available for streaming on both Netflix and iTunes. Jarad:No because for one police officers manipulate juveniles through coercion to admit to information that they may actually be innocent of. Jarad and Juan are currently serving the remainder of their sentence at Ironwood state prison. These are perfect examples of the way the justice system has decided to treat young men who commit violent crimes as adults. Their task is to create a screenplay that will be produced outside of the prison by their teacher. .tiktok-ze5eiw-SpanViews{-webkit-flex-shrink:0;-ms-flex-negative:0;flex-shrink:0;padding-right:12px;color:rgba(22, 24, 35, .75);}5500 views|.tiktok-15ooo5t-H4Link{font-family:ProximaNova,Arial,Tahoma,PingFangSC,sans-serif;font-weight:400;font-size:14px;line-height:20px;display:inline;color:rgba(22, 24, 35, .75);margin-left:12px;}.tiktok-15ooo5t-H4Link a{color:rgba(22, 24, 35, .75);}, Antonio hernandez (@edgar_heernadez)s videos with sonido original - joxls | TikTok. They Call Us Monsters. Available on iTunes Legislators debate legislation that allows for adult charges for juvenile offenders. Moved by his friends predicament, he says that he wants to become successful for him. Sitting in his white undershirt, he tries to reconcile the number of years Jarad. sonido original - PABLO CS. He attended the Compound as part of InsideOUT Writers, an organization that uses creative writing programs as a way to aid in the rehabilitation of prison inmates. However we have to give them the opportunity to change the monster in them by teaching them that there is good in every bad situation. Fathers in prison. Another important area centers on the cognitive development and decision-making ability of minors in dangerous home environments. Want to know more about this blog or how to get into contact with us? And in 2016, state voters approved a ballot measure that takes the decision on whether a teen should stand trial as an adult away from prosecutors and puts it in the hands of a juvenile court judge. People who are trying through art help these kids deal with the trauma that they have gone through.. We've posted their answers below, and also included the original letters if you'd like to see an authentically handwritten. https://redlandsalert.com/. I want the film to reach those legislative buildings, those communities, to start a conversation around this population and how it should be treated.. This reality recalls a moment from the beginning of the film when the boys are taking Cowan on a tour of the facilities at Sylmar, clean but stark if decorated with names of NFL teams. The film follows three juveniles: Juan Gamez, Antonio Hernandez and Jarad Nava. Another, Juan, who joined a gang before his 13th birthday, faces 90. Copyright 2023 Salon.com, LLC. Back in 2013, California was debating whether to give teenagers who committed violent crimes a second chance. Each one teach one.. Their stories are framed by their participation in a screenwriting class taught by Gabriel Cowan, one of the documentarys producers and by the debate among California lawmakers over a bill that would grant young offenders with lengthy terms a chance at parole after 15 years. They Call Us Monsters . I hope all works out for these fellas & every young person that happens to take the wrong or see the something that damages them, Our XML site map https://jjie.org/sitemap.xml, JJIE is published by the Center for Sustainable Journalism at Kennesaw State University. Seems like maybe youre afraid of the question.. The University of Redlands does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, And, I understand theyre just trying to keep the peace in the communities, which is real good, but I do feel that our youth has so much more potential and should be deal[t] with differently.. [2] [3] Premise [ edit] Meanwhile, the realities of Jarad and Juans crimes and pending trials set in. As they note on their site, the mission of InsideOUT Writers is to reduce the juvenile recidivism rate by providing a range of services that evolves to meet the needs of currently and formerly incarcerated youth and young adults. Not only do they offer creative writing classes to offer these young people the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully re-join the community, but they have instituted an Alumni program that supports former students upon their release. All three boys have children. In California, juveniles between the ages of 14 and 17 can be tried as adults and receive sentences longer than their natural life expectancy. 7 talking about this. 2017. Sorry your mother did what she did to you, it seems you are better off, Im sure it still hurts. Instead of facing my life I numbed myself to it and behaved immaturely.. All rights reserved. Summary. Powerful new documentary 'They Call Us Monsters' follows three teen boys who face life sentences for their violent crimes. The short film, LOS, was written by Juan Gamez, Jarad Nava and Antonio Hernandez. Toward the end of They Call Us Monsters, Antonio has been released. Recidivism, understood as a persons relapse into criminal behavior, often after the person receives sanctions or undergoes intervention for a previous crime, is a key statistic that tells lawmakers and law enforcement how likely those who have gone through the system are likely to find themselves back into it. They Call Us Monsters goes behind the walls of the Compound, a high-security facility where Los Angeles houses its most violent juvenile criminals, to follow three young offenders who sign up to take a screenwriting class with producer Gabe Cowan as they await their respective trials. Juan, Jarad and Antonio at "The Compound," a high-security Los Angeles facility for juvenile offenders. Ive since chosento leave the criminal lifestyle in my past and serve my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 7.0 1 h 21 min 2016 X-Ray 16+. Also, people who have done enough time in prison age out of violent crime in their thirties and forties. Together, he and the three inmates Juan Gamez, Jarad Nava and Antonio Hernandez (Mr. Hernandez is released partway through the movie) write a screenplay for a short film Mr. Cowan plans to make, inspired by the teenagers lives. Los ends up being, of all things, a love story. ", Jarad: I dont like snakes, theres a fear of heights, Im not scared of heights, but theres a fear. They Call Us Monsters A Documentary Film Review 'The Call Us Monsters' is a documentary film in which the filmmakers are granted access to the Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar California. In many countries children are used as hitmen, mainly because they are disposable, but also precisely because legal systems work different for them and that is not right. Little Hope Was Arson: A Letter from a Texas Jail, Ben Lear Shows Reality and Human Face of Juvenile Justice System. The girl in Los turns out to be Abby, the love of Juans life whom he let get away. Publication Information. By 2010, about 250,000 teens were being prosecuted in adult courts every year, according to the Campaign for Youth Justice, which opposes the practice. I cant think of anything specific other than Im grateful so many people have embrace[d] our story and joined the prison reform movement (one way or the other). This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Over the course of a few months, Learfilmed Cowan working with three teenagers -- Juan Gamez, Jarad Nava and Antonio Hernandez -- who were awaiting trial, some facing sentences more than 100 years long. They are lively, tattooed gangbanger street-wise kids, who show no remorse for their crimes. Cowan conceptualized the idea to teach screenwriting and then produce and shoot a movie from the script the kids wrote. In this movie, creator Ben Lear sheds valuable insight into the world of juveniles with life sentences. , when a referendum gave prosecutors the power to try teens as adults for certain serious crimes. They Call Us Monsters goes behind the walls of the Compound, a high-security facility where Los Angeles houses its most violent juvenile criminals. Hernandez was arrested at 14 for two attempted murders, and faced a 90-year life sentence but was granted parole for good behavior during filming since he was still under the age of 18. Arrested at 16, Jarad faces 200 years-to-life for four attempted murders; Juan, also arrested at 16, faces 90-to-life for first-degree murder; Antonio was arrested at 14 and faces 90-to-life for two attempted murders.[4]. They Call Us Monsters takes viewers behind the walls of the Compound, the facility where Los Angeles houses its most violent juvenile criminals. One week they would open up and trust me, and another week they would be joking around and sort of making me the villain., Cowan gave the teensliberty to choose what they wanted their film to be about. Associated Press articles: Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. In a world where children grow up sleeping on the floor, numerous families crammed into a two-bedroom apartment, barely receiving enough sustenance to stay alive, these kids begin life with nothing but survival instincts. He's a likable Mexican drug addict who comes from a single mom who is little more than a professional baby machine. He approached fellow InsideOUT board member and founder of The Anti-Recidivism Coalition, Scott Budnick (The Hangover) who executive produced the They Call Us Monsters as a labor of love. Who Creates the Dragons Brave Knights must Slay? While the gravity of their crimes is great, these young men are still simply teenagers. Jarad Nava and Antonio Hernandez (Hernandez is released partway . Documentary 2017 1 hr 21 min iTunes. Granted time should be done, but if prison is for rehabilitation and you give a sixteen-year-old 40 years to life, after 10 years hes truly changed, you still keep him inside. 2023 Independent Television Service (ITVS). Wait for a couple of seconds to let the tool find matching parts. A part of PBS, America's Home for Documentaries. Doing the numbers it appears that a child age 0-9 is 15x more likely to be killed by an aggressive dog breed than a firearm (excluding homicides). Emily Jordan is a YA writer living in New York City. When Hernandez talks to the filmmakers at home, there are toddlers strewn all . Their parents grew up in identical conditions before them and know nothing of survival in an "acceptable" way because they have NEVER been given instruction. Juan and Jarad were 16 when they were arrested; Antonio was 14. He had the group do a number of trust exercises. When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted. Yet, I also felt the film was successful in demonstrating that these are no little Charles Mansons, as a state senator in the documentary called them. were being prosecuted in adult courts every year, according to the Campaign for Youth Justice, which opposes the practice. Grappling with tough questions about what it means to convict a young teenager to a lifetime in prison without diminishing or excusing the violent crimes which these kids are accused of, They Call Us Monsters is a loud plea for our need to rethink how we understand the American justice system. You cannot punish trauma out of somebody. The entire area of the brain that pertains to culpability and consequence and long-term thinking and impulsivity everything that comes together in the commission of a crime is not developed, the films director, Ben Lear, told JJIE. Justice is not to seek retribution or eye for an eye, but there were homicides what they did and must pay in that sense. To their advocates, theyre kids. PBS Independent Lens airs the film on Monday, May 22. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Ben Lear makes his directorial debut with "They Call Us Monsters," a searing but sensitive documentary following the experiences of juvenile offenders through the justice system.His father, Norman, used the form of the sitcom to hold a mirror up to American culture, but Ben takes a more direct approach with his non-fiction work, and the intuitive observation displayed in this film shows . Cowan had the idea to starta screenwriting class for juvenile offenders after he gave a talk toincarcerated youth while working on another screenplay. To others, they're . At the start of the film, we watch as Juan, under surveillance, speaks on the phone with a girl. Antonio, a methamphetamine addict, recounts seeing a man shot to death in front of him when he was 8, but insists hes not traumatized: I guess you do kind of get used to it. And when he was 12, Jarad found his stepfather trying to stab himself to death an unsuccessful attempt that nonetheless resulted in the breakup of his family. To pass the time, they sign up for a screenwriting class and collaborate on a short film about their lives, including Juan's unrequited love for his childhood friend, Abigail. The teenage girl Jarad shot is paralyzed and in a wheelchair. On Wednesday, July 12th, Sol Collective hosted a film screening of the Netflix documentary "They Call Us Monsters" The film features three boys, Jarad Nava, Juan Gamez, and Antonio Hernandez, who are all facing life sentences for murder or attempted murder and work together to write a screenplay about their lives before they were incarcerated. UPDATE 6/29/2017:They Call Us Monsters isnow streamingon Netflix. You see this same willful blindness in the PBS documentary They Call Us Monsters. [1] The teenagers participate in a screenwriting class at Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Los Angeles, California with producer Gabriel Cowan. All rights reserved. Instead of rehabilitating youth who have committed serious crimes, he says, its punishing them. All three boys have, ------------------------------------------. The teacher, Gabriel Cowan (also a producer of the film), leads a workshop at Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in the Sylmar neighborhood of Los Angeles. For Lear, who now sits on the InsideOUT Writers advisory board, the shift has been heartening. He was booked on . As a 16-year-old boy facing 90 years to life for first-degree murder, he seems to float somewhere above or below this fact, as do Antonio Hernandez and Jarad Nava, the other teenage boys awaiting similar sentences in Ben Lears moving documentary, They Call Us Monsters, a film that connects a 20-week screenwriting class inside Sylmar, a segregated unit for juveniles being tried as adults, with the passing of SB 260, legislation that grants youth serving life sentences the possibility of parole. Jarad:Since the movie Ive been striving day after day to become a better person and hopefully re-enter society and just be a citizen, an asset, not a liability. Juan mostly appears contemplative, or maybe just catatonic. They Call Us Monsters. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/19/movies/they-call-us-monsters-review.html. Mothers staying home to care for their children. A new documentary premiering at the Los Angeles Film Festival takes us inside the Compound, a high-security facility in the middle of Sylmar Juvenile Hall, where LA County houses their high-risk juvenile offenders. . StarringJarad Nava Juan Gamez Antonio Hernandez Darrell Edwards Allegra Acosta Joel Anderson Richard Bloom Nate Corddry HD. Maybe it takes a lifetime., Lear, the son of television producer and liberal activist Norman Lear, was drawn to the issue after he was invited to sit in on one of the scriptwriting classes run by InsideOUT Writers, a Los Angeles-based organization that teaches creative writing to kids in juvenile lockups. Do they deserve a second chance? Juan and Jarad were 16 when they were arrested; Antonio was 14. Juan, Jarad, and Antonio, all between 14 and 16, face decades in prison. (Haha) Just kidding.. Toward the end of "They Call Us Monsters," Antonio has been released. Download a copy of Jarad Navas complete handwritten letter. Juan said he was in love with a girl when he was 10, but was too scared to tell her. I appreciated that the consequences of such serious crimes were not swept under the rug: a victim of one of the shootings shares her story, and a large part of the film follows the struggles of the prisoners families. Gabriel Cowan teaches a screenwriting class to juvenile offenders at The Compound. 1091 Media. Written By. Help bring programs like Independent Lens to your PBS station. This documentary, directed by Ben Lear (the son of legendary TV producer Norman Lear), is one of the few I have seen to . 2017. Thats why you need programs like InsideOUT and college., In the fifth writing class, Cowan introduces the topic of character motivation, telling the kids that conflict and fear are essential in driving plot. Gilpin County Colorado Most Wanted. What is going on in these cities that so many young teens are being charged for gang-related murders? 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