Girls behind bars

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to attend an Exhibition called “Girls Behind Bars” held in the “Together Our Space Gallery” in Old Street in London. In this current exhibition all the art work, visual and spoken media, was produced by female prisoners or ex-offenders and aims to explore their lives and how the justice system has affected them.

“Together” is a national charity which works alongside people who have mental health issues. They aspire to “a world where each individual can play their part in breaking down the barriers that exist around mental health through ignorance and lack of understanding”.
Together run a specialist service for vulnerable people in the criminal justice system and are known for their campaign for positive change. This is especially important as more than 70% of the prison population has two or more mental health disorders and female prisoners are 35 times more likely than women in general. For prisoners, finding a way to open up and express their feelings and communicate this with the outside world is a huge step forward.

Now you may ask why I say I was “lucky” to be able to see this inspiring exhibition. I am presently a serving offender, working in the community to give something back to the community. So for me, this exhibition had two meanings. Firstly, I could really relate to the work that had been created as I understood the environment that the women are in and know how difficult it can be to express your feelings and survive the challenges. Secondly, I now appreciate things I previously would have found at the bottom of my list of things to do, work and earning money were always far more important in the past and never gave me any time to be creative.

It is amazing how a few words or a picture drawn with feeling can “paint a thousand words”. I found the work on display gave the viewing public a peek into the varied experiences of women in the justice system: some bad, some not so bad and some downright awful, especially if they are suffering from mental health issues. I have seen the effects of poor mental health on the female population in prison and this is often just one of many problems affecting them.

Inside Job Productions, where I currently work as a Production Trainee had a short animation in the exhibition, created by girls from a Young Offenders Institute in Brighton. I was very proud to see what they had produced. The work they created showed real understanding of the mistakes they had made and could have been avoided. It was an educational and informative presentation, which I don’t believe would have had the same impact if it was only in a written form. It proves that creative communication can educate and inform a wider population. From a personal point of view, I have been able to use artwork and media as a medium to fuse together all my previous interests and it has given me a “new voice” and increased self esteem.

Written by DM

Inside Job Productions recognised with two gongs at International Communication Ceremony

Inside Job Productions (IJP), a London based production company making ‘great films with a purpose’, have been crowned proud winners of two Bronze prizes at the World’s largest and most prestigious celebration of the best in corporate and public sector communication, the IVCA 2011 Awards.

Competing with the cream of the crop in corporate film making, IJP’s Managing Director Naomi Delap said “IJP’s resounding success illustrates that big budgets are not an essential necessity in making great films with impact”. A small social enterprise, IJP’s films get to the heart of important issues in informative and stylish productions that rival the big boys of the production world. And with all the company's profits going to fund projects that use media to empower isolated communities and an innovative training programme for serving prisoners, IJP shows that great businesses can also make a great social contribution.

Now in their 23rd year, the IVCA (International Visual and Communications Association) awards were established to recognize effective corporate and public sector communications in video, interactive projects, business television and digital media. Recognised internationally as a premier mark of excellence in communication circles, winning two Bronze IVCA award is testament to IJP’s wonderful talent and celebrates the power of communication to only entertain, but also to educate and inspire people to make positive change.

‘Better Drug Treatment in Prison’ - an evocative five minute animation created for the National Treatment Agency directed by Graham Clayton-Chance - won bronze in the Best Animation, Graphic and Special Effects category. Nominated alongside corporate giant Nokia, this beautiful short illustrates the immense power and impact of creative social enterprise to communicate messages that are often difficult to portray in mainstream media. Through the words of offenders, this original and imaginative short follows the personal stories of three users and the incredible support they received in their battle to kick their habit.

‘Making a Fresh Start’, an educational film for offenders, directed by Ed McGown and starring Joe Simms and Angus Brown won bronze for the Best Drama award. This film allows offenders to understand what positive steps can be taken to ensure a life beyond bars is not a life plighted with financial horrors. A hard-hitting and humourous film that brings to life explicit messages often lost in traditional communication strategies. ‘Making a Fresh Start’ demonstrates the impact of media in empowering isolated communities.

Commenting on IJP’s double success, Marco Forgione, IVCA Chief Executive said: “Congratulations to IJP for their innovative and much deserved award-winning entries. The judges were impressed by the high calibre of skills, originality and expertise displayed.” He added that they’d described “Making a Fresh Start” as “a relevant and memorable film.”

ENDS 11:00 am 28th March 2011

Contact: Beverley Morrison 020 70332171

Written by: Gail Wilson

______________________________________

Notes to Editor:

For further information about the production of ‘Better Drug Treatment in Prison’ or ‘Making a Fresh Start’ display please contact:

Beverley Morrison, Acting Managing Director
beverleym@insidejobproductions.co.uk 020 70332170

Ann Summerhayes, Production Coordinator
anns@insidejobproductions.co.uk 020 70332170

• Inside Job Productions is a unique film production company with a twist. Not only does IJP make great films with a purpose, but 100% of profits are channelled directly into funding not-for-profit projects aimed at empowering isolate communities through media. http://www.insidejobproductions.org.uk/who_we_are

• Media for Development, is IJP’s parent social enterprise who utilise different media projects to reach, engage and empower isolated communities throughout the UK and internationally. For current list of projects contact Christy McAleese, Development Manager on christym@mediafordevelopment.org.uk 0207 0332170

• ‘Better Drug Treatment in Prison’ was produced in collaboration with National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, a National Health Service (NHS) Special Authority established to improve the availability, capacity and effectiveness of drug treatment in England. http://www.nta.nhs.uk/. To watch the film visit: http://www.insidejobproductions.org.uk/our_work

• ICVA Awards took place at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London, on the evening of Friday 25th March 2011. The ICVA awards celebrate creativity and effectiveness in Film, Interactive Media, CD-Rom, Websites and Production Arts and gives out more than 30 awards annually. http://www.ivca.org/award-schemes/ivca-awards/about-awards.html

Art through prison bars

Yesterday we attended the opening of Art by Offenders: Secure Patients and Detainees, the 2010 Koestler Awards exhibition. With a panel of curators wholly made up of victims of crime, the 2010 exhibition has an interesting twist to previous years, echoing the move to restorative justice across the sector. The commitment to arts was reiterated by MP Crispin Blunt in his opening speech where he also confirmed the government’s continuing support of the role of the arts in the Criminal Justice sector.

A presentation by the seven curators explored their various reasons for selecting the exhibited work, ranging from personal associations to an appreciation of the aesthetic and technical value of the pieces. Mirroring this, two award winning ex-offender artists spoke about what having their work recognised publicly meant to them.

For both the curators and the artists on the panel, the process of selection or creation of the work formed a key role in overcoming various issues. One curator commented “I came to realise although my family were victims of crime, these people [prisoners] are also victims of society.”

Rebecca who recently graduated with a BTEC in Media Production from The Media House, HMP Downview won the Roger Graef Platinum Award for her film Stuck in the System. She reiterated the importance of gaining education and qualifications whilst in prison and the positive difference that being involved in a project made to how she felt about life after prison.

The Inside Job Production Training Scheme works with offenders nearing the end of their sentence who join the company on day release for a period of four months. The scheme aims to provide valuable confidence and life skills enabling trainees to more effectively bridge the gap between release and rehabilitation.  At IJP, the process that we see our trainees go through from the beginning to the end of their placements is one that has a profound affect, both on their self esteem and perception, and their determination and attitude towards rehabilitation.  

Ann Summerhayes & Louise Brown, IJP

To view a short film of a day in the life of one of IJP's production trainees, click here

Can Social Enterprises deliver to the public sector?

IJP featured as example of best practice in Social Enterprise delivery to public sector services

IJP has been hailed as one of the organisations that successfully works as a Social Enterprise to deliver services to the criminal justice sector. With more focus on delivering efficiencies and increasing the social impacts of public sector services, IJP's latest film for the NTA is a strong example of how innovative social enterprise solutions can play an important part in the Big Society concept highlighted by Crispin Blunt:

'As part of the 'Big Society' we want to encourage charities and social enterprise groups as well as the private sector to apply their enthusiasm and expertise to turning around more and more lives and preventing future victims.'

To read the full article click here

Addressing stereotypes

Last week we visited the Hot Tap Theatre to see the latest play from Dean Stalham, an ex-offender with a fascinating life story who has used his experience before and during his time in prison to inspire writing that has been showcased at The Union, The ICA, The Hen and Chickens and the Orange Tree.

His latest work, God Don’t Live on a Council Estate, plays on largely autobiographical themes and features the harrowing tale of Danny Boy, a man who has lost his wife to suicide and is increasingly confused by the circumstances leading up to it.  Returning after an extended break abroad he visits his grandfather (Dudley Sutton), a notorious rogue whose tyrannical presence is felt and known throughout the estate in which he lives and from whom he feels pressure to continue the corrupt line of command. As the story unravels, we become aware of the complicated circumstances that have led to the strange dynamic between Danny Boy, his late wife and his best friend. A web of manipulation, sexual abuse and struggle for power unfolds and Danny is left to face the devastating truth about the past.

The play is interesting in both its clever interweaving of the multiple themes that are so prevalent across the criminal justice system and in the refreshing accuracy with which the acting portrays those themes. We know through our own experience of the IJP Production Training Scheme that these issues are common when working with service users across the sector, and Stalham’s depiction of them is yet another striking example of how the media can be used to demonstrate, educate and communicate in a way that is not possible via traditional means.

The new community interest company that Stalham has established, Art Saves Lives, is dedicated to finding space for and giving a platform to any artist, writer or musician that is for whatever reason marginalised by society. With the aim of raising awareness of the talents and passions for the arts that exist from within the margins, the company works to break down doors and disseminate stereotypes. For anyone not already exposed to the issues raised in God Don’t Live on a Council Estate, it is impactful enough to do just that -making the audience question the standard assumptions about a very specific world by representing it from an insider's point of view.  When overcoming stereotypes, illustrating the general through the specific is a powerful and effective tool and at IJP we firmly believe that media, whether it's film, theatre or otherwise, has the capacity to do this in groundbreaking ways.

Louise Brown, Inside Job Productions

The IJP Production Training Scheme is designed for offenders nearing the end of their sentence, providing valuable work experience in an engaging media environment.  The scheme helps to re-engage trainees with the work environment and build vital confidence skills,  aiding the difficult transition from release to resettlement.

Participatory digital development – my start at Media For Development

Although I've only been at Media for Development for a week, I can already see the potential for digital innovation to boost MFD's mission. I hope that a mashup of my background in web & social change and Media for Development's experience of participatory media will produce some pioneering ways to empower marginalised communities. So here's a snapshot of my thinking about where to go and how to get there.

My starting point is the way Media for Development uses participatory media to help transform people's lives. As a digital guy, this seems to me like a good match for the 'maker' meme - people participating in building their own stuff and their own solutions to problems. To my mind, a good starting point for MFD digital projects would be co-creation and the kind of co-design promoted by @thinkpublic and @wearesnook. This can by carried through the technical side of digital projects by appropriating agile development - the tech project methodology that iterates in small stages, keeping the project close to the users and allowing it to adapt as new issues and opportunities emerge.

At the other end, the digital scene is a wellspring of questions about impact and ROI, as embodied by Measurement Camp. The visibilising of social connections that's embedded in the social web makes social network analysis a way in to measuring impact, especially around ideas of social capital. And I expect Social Return On Investment (SROI) will be a useful way to pin numbers to our projects in a way that aligns with MFD's values. Of course, the most powerful way to convey impact is to hear from people themselves and MFD is already expert in the power of narrative.

One of the biggest challenges that faces MFD or anyone trying to build peer to peer support is the investment of time and resources it can take to get self-generating momentum in an online community. My first ideas about tactics is to start with stuff that's simple and useful, and can be applied immediately in people's lives. There were some good examples of this at Jailbrake an event that applied the Social Innovation Camp approach to making web & mobile services for young people caught up in the criminal justice system. For example, we heard that even a simple text reminder at the right moment can make a difference by helping someone with a fairly chaotic lifestyle make it to their probation appointments.

As one of the founders of Social Innovation Camp, I'd say its approach has a natural fit with media for Development and I'm expecting to draw a lot on @sicamp contacts and experience as I go forward with projects here, including the aim of making enterprises not just projects i.e. innovations that can find a way to be sustainable instead of petering out when the initial funding fades away.

But no statement about strategy would be compete without a 2 by 2 matrix :) so here's mine for MFD-Digital: with communities along one axis and digital along the other, we start with the communities that MFD knows well (e.g. people with experience of prison) and the tech that has already been successful (like the online community of Savvy Chavvy. Innovation on the communities axis means new hard to reach groups, and MFD already has plans to work with military veterans, and with young dad's who are in danger of being excluded from parenthood. Innovation on the digital axis has some straightforward starting points, like mobile and mapping: i've been inspired by the potential of open street mapping to catalyse community mobilisation, and i've already met with frontlinesms to look at ways that toolset can help overcome the digital divide here in the UK. In the future we may convene sicamp / crisis camp style events to catalyse unexpected digital innovations.

At the end of the day, though, it's not about tech but about the potential of digital to enable transformation; a change in people's lives and ultimately in themselves. And, perhaps, in those of us doing this work. I look forward to reporting irregularly on this journey.

Dan McQuillan joins MFD as Head of Digital

Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train

Having been lucky enough to score tickets to 'Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train's matinee show at Trafalgar Studios, a couple of us from IJP got the opportunity to be treated to a wonderful theatrical experience.   The production, written by Stephen Adly Guirgis and brought to life by Synergy Theatre Projects, was expertly performed under the direction of Esther Baker and a team of fine actors – some of whom were ex-offenders.

The prison drama explored the lives of two prisoners – Lucius & Angel - as they battled with their conscience, the crimes committed, and the possibilities of salvaging their souls through faith in God. The show throws open the doors to questions surrounding the criminal justice system and its failures, as well as the internal battle that rages in prisoners, lawyers and prison staff as they interact with each other and the system. Overall, the performances were phenomenal with dialogues tailored to make one laugh out loud and reflect at the same time.

More importantly, taking a step back from the plot and the hard-hitting dialogues, the show reinforces the value that artistic approaches can have in giving life to serious and often dry topics such as rehabilitation and the criminal justice system prompting dialogue amongst audiences and ex-offenders. And it can have consequences beyond the stage. One of the main aims of the Synergy Theatre Projects is to work with ex-offenders and turn them into exceptional actors, so they are providing prisoners with a way to ease back into life outside prison thus potentially contributing to a reduction in re-offending rates. IJP has a similar scheme where we train offenders & ex-offenders interested in the production aspects of film-making as well as equipping them with the skills required to confidently move forward.

Communication via creative avenues such as film and theatre creates opportunities not only to entertain, but also to inspire educate and question – in this case, it gave voice to the lives, thoughts and battles of all those interacting with the criminal justice system in different capacities. Anyone else seen great examples of the use of creative mediums that prompt discussions about the criminal justice system?

Vineetha A. George, Marketing Assistant, Inside Job Productions

Jailbrake

A few months ago NESTA and the people at Social Innovation Camp launched the Jailbreak challenge. They wanted to know if simple web and mobile tools that we use everyday could be used to divert young people from the criminal justice system and break the cycle of reoffending.

At Media for Development we are always thinking about what makes ‘good’ communication; this isn’t just what font to use on a poster or how long your mailing list is, its about creating tools and campaigns that can empower and mobilise people by providing effective and relevant information. One problem that had us scratching our heads is the disconnect between young people and local services; on the one hand you have young people saying there is no support offered when they are in trouble and on the other you have brilliant local services with dedicated staff saying that young people don’t come to them for help when then need it. What could we use to overcome this problem?

We’ve done a lot of work with young people and have to spend a long time convincing them to turn off their mobile phones. That got us thinking. There are surveys that show young people would rather go without new clothes than give up their mobiles. Scare stories that the shape of their thumbs are changing because they text so much… could we take this love of mobiles and somehow use it to connect young people and local services?

That's how the idea for Lost and Found was born! – an SMS service that would enable young people to locate local services relevant to the issues they face. All they need to do is text help, select the issue they are facing e.g. drugs and alcohol and, and with a little technical magic, they would get a text back telling them where to go locally to get help.

We submitted the idea to Jailbrake and they decided it would be one of six ideas that would be developed over the course of the Jailbreak weekend. Working with other social entrepreneurs, criminal justice practitioners and technical boffins we would have 48 hours to make a working model!

Saturday 9am sharp, we were off. Our team, fuelled by croissants and strong coffee began brainstorming all the features Lost and Found could have, while the technical folk told us whether it was possible to do. This way of working was brilliant: called Agile Design by those in the know, it basically means that you get everyone – stakeholders, designers, practitioners – together in one room and talk about what you what to achieve, then the designers work out how to make it happen and set about building a prototype.

By the next day, bleary eyed but very excited, we had a working text message system! I could send a text from my phone asking about a particular problem and a few seconds later a text came back telling where the nearest, open support service was including a map, telephone number and short description. This was great. Imagine a young person who is having problems with alcohol; they know they need help but don’t know where to find it. They don’t want to use the internet because they are embarrassed and their computer is shared with brothers, sisters and parents. Within a couple of minutes and no more that three texts, they can get the information they need, only using their own private mobile phone.

We demonstrated Lost in Found in front of a judging panel including representative from the Youth Justice Board and the Prison Reform Trust. The moment of truth came when we got the entire room (well the ones we could get off Twitter for a few seconds) to text ‘help’ to Lost and Found and get information back… a few seconds of deathly silence… followed by beeps and chirps all over the room as the system began to work!

We were absolutely elated as the weekend ended. We had proved that Lost and Found could work and the judging panel agreed, awarding us second place over all. Although the weekend is finished, Lost and Found is not.  We are now thinking about how to scale it up and roll it out so young people can access the support they need, wherever and whenever.    

Christy McAleese works as Office Manager for IJP and project manager at Media for Development.   

IJP’s income helps to fund the development of projects that empower isolated communities through media, many of which stem from extensive experience in the criminal justice and wider third sectors.

   

‘More fool us’

“Using comedy to explore mental health issues? That’s crazy!” I hear you exclaim, fully aware of the bad pun.

That’s what I am working on with IJP for Southside Partnership, a mental health charity that works with a lot with ex-offenders and prisoners with severe mental health issues.The project is multi-faceted, combining a promotional film for Southside (completed late last year), a live performance by a comedian in Downview prison, plus a DVD of that performance intercut with “behind the scenes” footage, including interviews with comedian John Ryan and focus groups conducted at four Surrey prisons.

Thankfully, I have one of the easier jobs. I am creating a narrative, telling the story of John’s journey to find out about mental health issues in prisons. John, on the other hand, has to make it funny! I will be interested to see how he does that in the final performance. My guess is that he will focus on the absurdities of prison life – of which there are many – and tell some of the stories he has heard in focus groups about what prisoners do on a day-to-day level in order to get through their sentence. I’m expecting a bitter-sweet show.

Shooting inside prisons has a number of challenges, many of which we have faced so far on this project, and there may be more to come! The main challenge is getting permission to film inside a prison. Even for a company like Inside Job Productions, with a long track record of this kind of work, in addition to Southside, who go into prisons all the time, we have had stumbling blocks from prison bureaucracies in terms of gaining entry. Luckily a history of experience in how to negotiate such hurdles helps us navigate the many layers of management in a prison, ensuring we’re doing everything that we need to in order to secure the shoot.

The other element is the shoot itself, as one rarely has complete control over the location. Shooting schedules have to work around the prison schedules, there is limited time to prepare a room/location for filming and there is almost nothing you can do about the noise – a working prison is going to be noisy so you just have to accept it and hope you have a good sound recordist!

But with challenges come creative solutions. I find that, in all filmmaking, there are obstacles and blocks, people who tell you what you CAN’T do, which just makes you think more laterally about what you CAN do. Plan A on this project has already fallen through, so we’re on to Plan B and also have Plans C&D in reserve, just in case. However it happens, we’re going to make an interesting film.

Charlotte George, Producer/Director, Inside Job Productions

Being a production trainee at IJP

I first started working for Inside Job Productions three days before my 26th birthday, and found myself feeling more like an 18 year old just leaving school. I was so nervous, terrified of talking to and being around people I didn't know. For the last ten months I'd only had to talk to people I knew, and if I didn't know them I knew where they were coming from, they were in the same place as me.

Quicker than I thought I got used to being out in the world and doing normal things, which helped my confidence and self-esteem immensely. Also being in an organisation that was sympathetic to my background really helped. I did loads of different jobs, from basic things like answering the phone and sorting the post to helping out on shoots and even filming and editing.

After being at IJP for six months I got a temp job as an admin assistant and I found it difficult not being able to be open about my past. Although I didn't have any problems with my confidence I didn't relly feel comfortable. I feel a lot happier where I am now, at Clean Break, as they're an organisation that's also sympathetic to people with experience of the criminal justice system. My experience at IJP has helped me in so many ways, I wouldn't have even heard about the job at Clean Break, let alone got it!

Verity LaRoche, Production Trainee, Inside Job Productions

Giving women a voice

I've been freelance producing for IJP for three years now. I love the fact that on every job I'm plunged into scenarios which are fascinating, eye-opening and often quite bizarre. On a dark rainy Wednesday evening last week, I was shown down to the basement of Albany Street Police Station in north London and led into the cells where 5 police officers were waiting to be interviewed, by me. It was late, stiflingly airless, and totally surreal to be directing police custody sergeants from the side of the desk where if I'd had a different kind of life, I might be standing handcuffed, answering questions, rather than asking them. 

I just thought - wow, here I am, talking directly to police on the front line about the way they deal with the most vulnerable women in society. They had all just come off long shifts to be filmed for a DVD, which will help to raise awareness of the issues faced by female offenders.

The DVD was commissioned by the Ministry of Justice in response to Baroness Corston's report for the Government on the treatment of women in the Criminal Justice System. At the beginning of the project, we filmed an interview with her at the House of Lords. She cried as she talked about some of the women she had met in prison, and the stories they had told her about their lives. I've also felt very emotional whilst making this film. Some of the women that we met at Anawim Women's Centre in Birmingham told us things that I could hardly believe still happen in Britain today. They bravely lifted the lid on traumatic experiences to talk to us on camera, and in doing so they will have an important impact on how Police, Probation officers, Judges and Magistrates will handle cases in the future.

This type of commission pushes the envelope of film as a communication tool. The Ministry of Justice won't just use the DVD as part of a new training programme for staff. It will also be distributed to government departments, agencies and policy makers, bringing the lives of the women who spoke to me and the experiences of the staff working with them directly to the heart of national debate about policy and practice in the Criminal Justice System.

Heidi Perry, Producer/Director, Inside Job Productions

Cracking Up

Sometimes researching a new film project can be fun. So a trip to The Hob pub in Forest Hill to see John Ryan, a London/Irish comedian, do a show seemed an inviting prospect. Then it turned out the show was all about mental health. Depression. Suicide. Light-hearted stuff really.

A mix of comedy, sketches and poetry founded on research and contributions from people who have experienced mental health difficulties, Cracking Up aims to 'lift the lid on mental health', encourage people to be more 'open to talking about and seeking help if they experience symptoms' and 'help reduce stigma by normalising mental health problems'.

Actually, to the credit of John, fellow performers and the show's producer Maya Twardzicki, a psychologist working with mental health services in Surrey, Cracking Up turned out to be very funny. Aimed predominantly at men, who find it harder to talk about mental health and to seek help for mental health problems, Twardzicki decided that comedy was going to be the perfect way of engaging audiences with issues, and recruited Ryan, who's already done one successful show on men's health called Hurt Till It Laughs.

In preparation for Cracking Up, discussion sessions were run with different demographic groups of men around Surrey to inform the development of the comedy and sketch scripts. Sixty men took part from around the county including firemen, construction students, long term unemployed and users of mental health services. So far the show has been shown to over 600 people across Surrey and London, and now has two dates for shows in April at the Soho Theatre.

This imaginative approach to raising awareness of mental health issues caught the eye of an organisation called the Southside Partnership, who work with offenders. They asked whether IJP would be interested in helping them, Maya and John to deliver a similar kind of project involving offenders. That's how I ended up in Forest Hill, listening to comedian Gareth Berliner describe his suicide attempt in great detail. And laughing.

Do go to the show if you're interested. And we'll keep you posted on our project with the Southside Partnership.

Naomi Delap, Managing Director, Inside Job Productions

Through the brothel keyhole...

This week a group of us from IJP paid a visit to the Himalaya Film & Cultural Festival to watch a short film called "From Brothel to Bridehood". The documentary, set in Mumbai, follows the work of the Rescue Foundation, an NGO that works for the rescue, rehabilitation and repatriation of victims of human trafficking from India, Nepal and Bangladesh who have been sold for forced prostitution.

Established in the year 2000, the Rescue Foundation rescues women from the brothels of Mumbai and cares for them in one of their three homes providing them with health care, counselling, training, confidence building activities, and where appropriate facilitating arranged marriages to provide them with security and a traditional family way of life.

The film was followed by a short presentation and Q&A from Triveni Acharya, the inspiration and founder of the Rescue Foundation.  The largest organisation of its kind, the NGO rescues more than 300 girls annually, providing them with an escape from a life of exploitation.

Seeing the film drew interesting parallels to the issues IJP works with across many of our films because, as shocking as it may seem, these sorts of problems also exist in the UK.

Many of our past and previous projects have involved communicating the work of organisations which mirror the achievements of the Rescue Foundation in Mumbai. We’re in the middle of filming an IJP commission for NOMS Women’s Team addressing issues faced by women on the cusp of offending. Over the past few weeks I’ve heard interviewees in Birmingham talking about similar problems where from an early age women are drawn into a life of prostitution, drug addiction and domestic violence.

'From Brothel to Bridehood' clearly communicated the impact of the Rescue Foundation's work to deal with the above issues, from the girls' withdrawn young faces when they were rescued to their playful smiles and laughter when dancing.  As a film production company working extensively with social issues, it reinforced the power of film to capture, in a very short space of time, something which couldn't be achieved by words alone.

Ann Summerhayes, Production Co-ordinator, Inside Job Productions

Media as a tool against prejudice

More than one third of adults admit to being prejudiced against Travellers/Gypsies, with such prejudices being frequently reinforced by mainstream media. Before Savvy Chavvy, access to the technological skills and equipment to challenge this representation and express and reinforce a sense of community within traditional media was limited. However, in the form of a unique social networking site, the development of Savvy Chavvy gave young members of this often misrepresented and marginalised community the opportunity to take control of how they are perceived.

Traditionally creating audio and video had been a relatively expensive and complicated process and, crucially, distribution rested with mainstream media outlets. However, the advent of relatively inexpensive and easy to use digital video and audio hardware combined with online platforms such as YouTube and Current TV has created exciting possibilities for communities and individuals to represent themselves, set the agenda and challenge prejudices. For communities such as the Gypsy Roma Traveller community whose portrayal in mainstream media is frequently misinformed or prejudicial, this freedom is nothing short of groundbreaking.

It was suprising how comfortable the young people were with the digital camcorders, audio recorders and editing software and within half a day they were shooting, cutting and up-loading their own work. However, what was even more striking was the clear editorial voice the young people had, each showed a very strong idea of what they wanted to say about themselves, their lives and their community. The result was a series of films and audio work that was powerful, emotive and a real alternative to the portrayal of their community that exists in the mainstream.

The young people involved in the training and all those accessing savvychavvy.com have shown increased confidence, greater pride in their cultural identity and decreased feelings of isolation. Rather than passively using the web, Savvy Chavvy members now view web 2.0 technologies as tools for self and cultural expression and can access a network of like minded individuals to discuss issues of real significance to their lives.

Christy McAleese, Savvy Chavvy Project, Media For Development

Rex Quondam, Rexque Futurus

I recently went to a lecture given by Rex Bloomstein, a documentary maker who’s been filming in and around the criminal justice system since the 1970’s. Organised by the Prisoner’s Education Trust, the event gave a fascinating insight into the enormous changes that have happened in the prison estate over four decades and the way that film has been used to capture, and in Bloomstein’s case, influence that process.

Clips from early films such as ‘The Sentence’, (1975) ‘Release’, (1976) ‘Prisoners’ Wives’, (1977) ‘Parole’, (1978) ‘Lifer’ (1982) and ‘Strangeways’ (1980) showed a system where prisoners still slopped out every morning, adjudications happened behind closed doors and there was widespread concern about the rising prison numbers. The prison population hit 40,000 for the first time in the early 70’s (compared to today’s figure of over 80,000), causing a huge debate about how prisons were run and a desire to open the system to scrutiny to an extent which actually allowed Bloomstein unprecedented access to prisons like Strangeways.

The films gave fascinating portraits of individuals: the wife of a serial criminal sent down yet again; the lifer who’d been in care most of his life who had no intention of submitting to the system at awful cost to his quality of life in prison – revisited again thirty years later in another film in terrible health but somehow finally at peace with himself; and the transvestite lifer who told the story of how he’d found himself in the middle of a police siege – at the beginning of the night demanding a million pounds and a helicopter, and at the end, a bottle of Pernod...

Bloomstein’s style is laconic, slow-moving, allowing the situations to unfold and subjects to speak for themselves. At the same time, he asks pointed questions in voice-over – why does so much happen behind closed doors? When will it change? And his questions prompted further questions, and sometimes answers. His films showed the public a hidden world and had a direct effect. At the end of the talk a member of the audience stood up to comment: it was Martin Narey, former head of the prison service and now Chief Executive of children’s charity Barnadoes. Narey had watched Bloomstein’s film about Strangeways and had been inspired to join the prison service as a result.

Bloomstein is still making films addressing fundamentally important subjects: the Holocaust (KZ 2005) , freedom of expression (An Independent Mind 2008) and the criminal justice system – he made a film about children in prison in 2005. He talked about the need to keep making his films simply and with integrity – moving in the opposite direction to the majority of factual programming on TV today. At the same time, the filming environment has changed, although with his track record Bloomstein has more clout than most. Compliance, the spectre haunting TV in the noughties and presumably the decade to come, means the filming process has changed radically and film-makers are much less able to film opportunistically and spontaneously.

Still, as we move into a new decade, Bloomstein’s classic, thoughtful films are a beacon of light in a sea of formatted drivel. Proof that film-making can still be powerful, influential, affecting.

Naomi Delap, Managing Director, Inside Job Productions

Only hackers can judge hackers

And only a hacker can know a hackers' worth. We might not know it but looking back at the history of the early internet we actually inherited a valuable change in attitude from the early geeks and the dynamic they established in their usenet newsgroups!

A long time before the graphical browsers came along they needed a way to freely share knowledge. They did so by sending emails to all members of a group, which was a great way to get feedback and join efforts. Together they developed a creative and collaborative practice, in their area of technological interest. This method of peer-to-peer knowledge exchange, production and distribution is today being applied in all sorts of areas, online and in the real world.

The attitude we inherited is that we as 'consumers' or 'users' now turn to our peers or people in the same boat as us, for advice on what to do and where to go. You shop for a camera, you check reviews by other people who have bought it before. You have a software problem, you search for other users who have had the same issues – and hopefully solved them. Experts don't always get it right, nor do they always agree with each other. This kind of gives everybody the right to chip in and the internet makes this possible. Twenty people sharing their subjective and contradictive views on a certain issue can now have the information edge over an expert. People are increasingly making informed decisions based on the experiences of their peers rather than simply being told what to do.

Often it's easier to accept support, advice and real life examples from somebody who has gone through the same experience themselves. I’m not saying you can replace experts, but in many cases they can be complemented.

Earlier this month we launched freeasabird.org.uk, a peer-support network for women coming out of the Criminal Justice System. Like most peer-to-peer projects, the community has shaped the network, and takes the lead in producing the content and managing the site. The focus of freeasabird is on sharing real life examples of how women ex-offenders have got back on their feet, whether it’s sorting out housing, getting new qualifications or finding a job. People coming for advice or help can choose to take on board the opinions of others or not. Of course not everybody will have had the same experience, but users will share enough to be able to learn from each other. And we hope they will be inspired and motivated by other people’s’ stories to move their lives forward. As a model, peer-projects have gone a long way and have an even longer way to go. Technologies come and go, companies and software applications come and go, but the principal of peer-to-peer exchange as a tool to empower communities is clearly here to stay.

Caspar Below, Freeasabird Project Manager, Media For Development

IJP's income is used to develop various MFD projects, including Freeasabird.


Watch this space to hear about how we continue to explore this model of mutual aid to build communities that can help themselves. Visit freeasabird for advice, stories and films for and by women offenders. Books: Cyberchiefs, Autonomy and Authority in Online Tribes. Mathieu O’Neill.

Bridging the development gap

Almost exactly seven years ago - just before Christmas 2002 - I was sitting in a classroom at Wandsworth Prison discussing a new project idea with a small group of prisoners. We were thinking about setting up a radio station inside the prison, complete with a learning facility, with the idea that radio might be an excellent hook for encouraging prisoners to get involved in education for the first time. Setting up a new project takes time, patience and money and we suspected that anything inside a prison would draw heavily on all of these. Sure enough, it was eighteen months later when Radio Wanno was opened by Cherie Booth as a unique new learning and broadcast facility at Wandsworth Prison - and by then we had all come up against the numerous challenges of working inside a prison.the idea being discussed casually over a coffee and the project launch?

What the development of Radio Wanno also demonstrated to us was one of the biggest challenges that any entrepreneurial organisation coming up with bright new ideas has to contend with: who wants to pay for that crucial period of time between - which in the case of Radio Wanno was eighteen months. It's an especially big question for us at Media for Development (MFD), where we're in the business of coming up with fresh ideas of how different media can be used to change people's lives, for the better. And so that's where IJP comes in: our idea was to establish an income-generating arm of MFD that would help cover our project development costs. This bridge between a great idea and it's realisation, means projects can be developed and get off the ground. It's only three years since the launch of IJP and already Naomi and her dynamic team are supporting us in that objective, as well as having their own clearly defined vision of making great films which help other organisations achieve their social objectives.

Things have moved on in a big way at MFD since the launch of Radio Wanno - we've now worked in over 30 prisons around England and next year we'll start new media-based initiatives in other parts of the criminal justice system both here and in the UK, as well as internationally. So if you're reading this as someone who's commissioned a film from IJP or you've been on one of the IJP production teams, thanks for the contribution!

James Greenshields, CEO, Media for Development

To see other projects for which IJP has funded the development, visit the IJP website

Radio Wanno has won 3 Koestler Awards for production, with 79% of it's students going on to achieve NCFE accreditation. "Radio Wanno has educated me in computer and studio skills, it's given me confidence to speak in front of others, but most importantly it has given me a way out of crime' - NCFE graduate

Phones can be more scary than you think!

It's a pretty extreme way to sort your life out but, for me, going to prison allowed me to do just that. Really. Of course, the simple daily grind and routine, slamming doors, jangling keys and shouts of 'Get your hot water ladieeeeeeeeees' probably wouldn't be enough for anyone to turn the corner but mine was a sentence laden with opportunity; opportunity I seized with great relish.

It started with a course (sorry if a song just popped into your head), a BTEC in digital media. If I say so myself I did very well, getting an overall distinction and a massive boost to my confidence and self-esteem. And that led to the ultimate prize, a placement with IJP as their first ever Production Assistant, commuting daily from prison to their offices in London. An actual job! Like a normal person!

Obviously getting the job wasn't as simple as just doing well on the course and I'm not sure that was even a factor. The application process was like that of any job including an interview at which I was more than a little nervous. But I got through it and thanks to that and some serendipitous timing regarding eligibility for licenced release the first placement was mine. I'd have loved a glass of champers to celebrate but I was in prison so I had a cup of tea. Closely followed by another one. And then maybe one more. I do like tea.

The job itself was completely different from anything I'd ever done before. It wasn't mind-numbingly dull for a start. Every day offered me a new challenge, new people to meet, new things to arrange, the odd article to write. Before I hadn't even known I could write.

There were challenges I probably felt at the time I could have done without, for example approaching Monty Don and Grayson Perry with invitations for the company launch. They looked at me as though I was mad. Maybe it was my manic fixed grin? While in prison I had also inexplicably developed a phobia of using the telephone and looked for more creative ways of avoiding it ('No really, their preferred method of communication is morse code/semaphore/beacon lighting'), and I gave a speech at a conference which was the single most fear-inducing experience of my life, worse even than my trial (which was no picnic). I was rubbish too. I'd written it before I got there and simply read it out without looking up once.

Although I felt it was disastrous it hasn't stopped me from doing it since (similarly with me never looking up) and I have IJP to thank that I now have the confidence to put myself in that position despite being useless at it. Strangely enough the phone hasn't been ringing off the hook with offers of engagement as an after-dinner speaker. Just as well as I probably wouldn't answer the phone anyway.

Fiona writes a successful blog and is currently working on a book for publication. Prior to her placement at IJP Fiona completed her studies at the Media House, a project managed by Media for Development, IJP's founder organisation which runs various projects using media as a tool to re-engage and empower isolated communities.

Saturday Night at Secret Cinema

As we get closer to Old St tube station the people in white multiply. We stream towards the venue past long lines of people putting on decontamination suits bearing the legend 'Nostromo'. Joining our place in the queue we pass a window where a group of astronauts argue around a table. We finally enter the building through a vibrating airlock...

It all started when I received an email from Secret Cinema, London's latest pop-up happening for cinephiles. Sign up to the website and Secret Cinema will eventually invite you to the next screening - film to be revealed and venue to be announced. All you know is that it'll happen on a certain date somewhere in London.

We emerge in a huge concrete space foaming with dry ice and filled with over a thousand people in their white hooded suits. A disembodied head sits in the corner of the bar and an alien form slithers round the stairwell. We sit in front of a huge screen clutching our popcorn and a glass of wine, and the lights go down...

There's a lot to be said for the power of anticipation. I lost count of the number of emails I exchanged with my sister speculating on which film we were going to see. As it turned out neither of us got it right, despite the very obvious hints (well done, movie buffs, Nostromo is the space ship in Ridley Scott's sci-fi classic Alien).

The lights come up again. "That was brilliant!" enthuses my sister. We hang around a bit listening to a DJ mixing alien beats live (even worse than it sounds) and then head off to a nearby bar for a drink where, to be fair, they don't bat an eyelid at our decontamination suits.

I think it's a love it or hate it type of event, but if you like a bit of intrigue and are excited by the idea of dressing up...Secret Cinema could be your next big night out.

Naomi Delap, Managing Director, Inside Job Productions

Empowering magistrates through film

When I was asked by IJP to make a film for London Probation to give magistrates an in-depth understanding of what happened to people serving community sentences I felt excited, if slightly daunted by the vast scope of issues the film could cover. One magistrate told me he sees the same people in court time and time again and wanted to know why, and what measures could change this. Another said that understanding the kinds of day-to-day issues many offenders are struggling with would help him sentence more appropriately.

We decided to focus on the stories of three individuals undertaking different intervention programmes as part of their sentence plan. The Women's Programme is a 3-month intensive couse aiming to build self-esteem, assertiveness and life skills to prevent re-offending. Lots of the women have difficulties saying 'no' to their partners or kids, and end up living outside their means and resorting to crime. They work on thinking more positively about themselves, the goals they want to achieve and how to manage bills and money. The women we met felt the course had given them the tools they needed to change their future.

The 9-month Domestic Abuse Programme was quite an eye-opener. It's not just about physical violence, but about all the other nuances of power play in personal relationships. The man we filmed was still together with his partner and child. His partner said he had really changed since doing the programme - he understood her needs better; listened more; and differences were now being resolved through talking rather than escalating into full-blown rows and fights.

Our final contributor was someone who's spent most of his adult life in and out of prison. Currently on a methodone prescription, he was attempting to break his heroin addiction and cut down on drinking. He was under intensive supervision and had daily appointments with different agencies. He told us that in the chaos of his life this structure was what kept him feeling safe. I hope the short amount of filming we did with him will help give magistrates a better understanding of the deeply-rooted, complex issues in people's lives that can lead them to keep re-offending. And that many need multiple interventions and different kinds of support before change really starts to happen.

Rosa Rogers, Producer/Director, Inside Job Productions