spoke digital films

This quietly engaging film chronicles a retired Texas pastor who worked as a prison chaplain for fifteen years. Part of Pastor Pickett’s job was to counsel convicts on Death Row, though his responsibilities went further than that. One of Pickett’s duties was to counsel the men on the days leading up to their execution and make certain they wouldn’t fight as they were led to the gurney to be strapped down for lethal injection.

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I’m very pleased to announce that the Puffin Foundation generously awarded Spoke Digital Films with an Artist Grant to help us complete our documentary, Shielded Brutality, which documents a thirty-year history of police torture in Chicago, Il.

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While the complicated subjects of copyright and intellectual property law are by no means glossed over, they are bolstered with historical anecdotes, personal stories, discussions with filmmakers and archivists, and plenty of real world examples spoken in plain language. This is a book written by creative people with a passion for filmmaking, and it shows in the text.

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Some important developments have occurred since the new year, including a $20 settlement with four torture victims. We can only hope this is the beginning of further moves towards real justice for victims and their families. I hope that this film can play some part in working towards that justice and preventing future abuses. I am still hoping for a date of completion by the end of this Summer.

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Before January gets too far along, I wanted to take a minute to reflect on the year past, especially as it relates to the making of my film, Shielded Brutality. In short, last year was hugely successful, and ended on the great note of two and half years of hard work coming together successfully. But before I get to that, let me quickly recap what was accomplished. Here are some of the people I was fortunate enough to film interviews with over the past year discussing the Burge history and criminal justice reform in general.

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We just found out this week that our documentary film, Shielded Brutality, was awarded the Media Justice Fund grant from the Crossroads Fund in Chicago! This will be a huge asset in finishing the film and I can’t thank the people at Crossroads enough.
It’s been a very busy past few months. Much [...]

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In short, the film describes a war implemented with a profound lack of planning seemingly guided only by a toxic mixture of arrogance, naivete, and an unwillingness to face realities that conflicted with the blind faith of Neo-Con architects. So, it rarely tells us anything we don’t already know, but it combines impressive access to key figures, strong imagery from the war, and taut storytelling to deliver an important record of history.

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View the Quicktime trailer for the documentary film “Shielded Brutality”, which documents a 30-year scandal of police torture and political cover-up in Chicago

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Peter discusses creative and inexpensive strategies for finding and reaching a core audience for your film, regardless of subject matter. He goes on to discuss how to distribute your film (once you’ve reached your core audience) in a way where you retain the rights to and control of the film.

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Dr. Morris’s commentary was deeply thoughtful, insightful, and passionate as he discussed his thoughts regarding Chicago’s history of police torture and issues of social justice in general. I am very grateful to him for taking the time to participate. Below are a couple of stills from the interview:

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