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. Because the prisoners became so vulnerable, I felt connected to them and their raw humanity in a way I did not expect given their crimes. The finished film, Los, can be viewed at http://insideoutwriters.org. Of the three young men it follows, Antonio faces 90 years to life for two attempted murders committed just after he turned 14. 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. She weeps as she talks about the harrowing moment in which she thought she was going to die. original sound - . SALON is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark of Salon.com, LLC. Do they deserve a second chance? Download a copy of Juan Gamezs complete handwritten letter. The focus of InsideOUT is usually poetry and prose (alumni participate in group gatherings called Writing Circles, where young people come together to share their work and talk). Of course, aging out of crime and violence can also be offset by a prison culture that doesnt allow you to change. University of Redlands Emergency Alert System, Alert Received: . 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. As we see them crafting a short film based on their experiences, Lear gives us access to their families and in one case to their victims stories, balancing the fresh faces we see at the Compound with the violent crimes that landed them there. Antonio, Juan and Jarad are enrolled in a 20-week screenwriting course taught by Gabe Cowan, and through clips of their classes and the fictional scenarios they develop, "They Call Us. Sign up for our newsletter and receive the coolest updates! While the gravity of their crimes is great, these young men are still simply teenagers. They Call Us Monsters contrasts the actions that have the three prisoners facing life sentences and glimpses of their jovial boyhood still remaining. Juan Gamez, Antonio Hernandez and Jarad Nava are the youthful offenders at the heart of They Call Us Monsters, a new documentary that follows their lives in a Los Angeles juvenile detention center. To some, they're kids. The girl in Los turns out to be Abby, the love of Juans life whom he let get away. Before watching They Call Us Monsters, I knew little to nothing about the issue of justice for juveniles under California Senate Bill 260, a law that went into effect in 2014 that gives a second chance to most people who were under the age of 18 at the time of their crime. The juvenile justice system was created to rehabilitate, not to be punitive but it became a punitive system where the kids are getting punished for their trauma.. 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). 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. Cowan, who also happens to be one of the films producers, is the first person to teach a screenwriting class with InsideOUT Writers, a non-profit organization whose mission is both to use creative writing as a catalyst for personal transformation and to reduce the juvenile recidivism rate by providing services for formerly incarcerated youth. Tru 01:00 6 Calling All The Monsters Jessica Jean 00:30 2168 A Monster Calls Read Hersh 01:00 10 A Monster Calls Clarity 01:00 0 You Call Us Monsters Benjamin Wallfisch 00:30 0 Thriii 01:00 2409 They Call Me Tiago (Her Name Is Margo) Juvenile court judges had made that decision. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Lears documentary follows three boys living in such a compound who signed up for a screenwriting class: Antonio Hernandez, Jarad Nava, and Juan Gamez. After watching the documentary They Call Us Monsters at the University of Redlands Orton Center last Thursday, I was left with these questions. The show, which was created in partnership with InsideOUT Writers, features interviews and work from This scene makes it into the final documentary, in which Learbraids together footage from the class with clips from the fictional film that the teens wrote. We are committed to transparency in every aspect of funding our organization. I want the film to reach those legislative buildings, those communities, to start a conversation around this population and how it should be treated.. He speaks with renewed hope about providing his friends at the juvenile hall with a larger-than-life example of the success that they can aspire to achieve, transforming himself into a heroic figure on par with the "blue people in 'Avatar.'" Ben Lear. 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. 1 They Call us Monsters, for me, was more than just another Netflix documentary. 88 Likes, TikTok video from Elena2widdit (@elena2widdit): "#theycallusthemonsters #stevenfernandez #TurboTaxAndRelax #fyp". A scene in which Juan calls a girl he had a crush on, while a listening staff member roots for him, provides the films most oddly affecting moment. Preview EXPLORE THE FILM About the Documentary They. You have to turn your life around to get parole. HD. StarringJarad Nava Juan Gamez Antonio Hernandez Darrell Edwards Allegra Acosta Joel Anderson Richard Bloom Nate Corddry Antonio Hernandez (arrested at age 14) and Jarad Nava (arrested at 16) are both charged with multiple counts of attempted murder; Juan Gamez (also arrested at 16) is charged with first-degree. Los ends up being, of all things, a love story. 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. As the film reveals, in the last four years, the state has passed bills to decrease juvenile sentencing a move that re-sparked a national debate over the very nature of these violent juvenile offenders. In California, the parole bill featured in Monsters ultimately passed in 2013. 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. You see this same willful blindness in the PBS documentary They Call Us Monsters. I really was." Encouraged by Cowan and his classmates, Juan ended up calling his 10 year-old crush inside the jail. I dont usually watch TV shows like that, but I do like The Big Bang Theory, The X-Files, American Ninja Warrior, I catch them from time to time. [He adds that nothing hes watched has inspired him as far as doing his own film.]. Publication Information. [2] [3] Premise [ edit] Documentary. Antonio Hernandez & Omar Montes 01:00 220 They Call Me Monster Mike Monster Mike Welch 01:00 1 What They Call Us? Jarad and Juan are currently serving the remainder of their sentence at Ironwood state prison. Stars: Nora Kirkpatrick, Nate Corddry, Ernesto Hernndez, Allegra Acosta, Joel Anderson, Richard Bloom, Steven Fernandez, Ernesto Hernandez, Scott Budnick, Mike Camacho, Antonia Casas R, Yesenia Castro, Gabriel Cowan, Darrell J Edwards Jr, Darrell J Edwards Sr, Juan Gamez, Kath Review: They Call Us Monsters, but Do We Deserve Life Sentences? Supporters of that measure cited new science about brain development in teenagers that found the part of the brain that regulates judgment, decision-making and impulse control doesnt fully form until a person is in their 20s. Over the course of the two years that Lear (son of TV writer and producer Norman Lear) spent filming They Call Us Monsters, SB 260, the juvenile parole bill, went into effect in California. Another, Juan, who joined a gang before his 13th birthday, faces 90. I definitely believe teens that see unforeseen trauma in there childhood should certainly be given a serious second chance, their brains are not fully developed. sonido original - Antonio Hernandez. ENGLISH. Also, people who have done enough time in prison age out of violent crime in their thirties and forties. 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. Emily Jordan is a YA writer living in New York City. Juan, Jarad and Antonio at "The Compound," a high-security Los Angeles facility for juvenile offenders. He wrote that he is grateful so many people have embrace[d] our story and join the prison reform movement. While in prison, he is going to college fulltime and making strong grades. His statement, I was a monster, I really was, is the crux of the film: he joined a gang before his thirteenth birthday to emulate his brother. hey mickey baby tate - brae. 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. Download a copy of Jarad Navas complete handwritten letter. For more information, visit: Antonio could care less. After passing SB 260, California also passed SB 261 in 2015, a law that raised the age of SB 260 to 22-years old, affecting an additional 16,000 inmates. Ive since chosento leave the criminal lifestyle in my past and serve my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Maybe that journey toward remorse and responsibility is different for everyone. Jarad Nava and Antonio Hernandez (Hernandez is released partway . Antonio, Jarad and Juan are the subjects of the documentary "They Call Us Monsters," BMP Films The issue of juveniles tried as adults in our criminal justice system is a difficult one, and the . about brain development in teenagers that found the part of the brain that regulates judgment, decision-making and impulse control doesnt fully form until a person is in their 20s. In They Call Us Monsters, Jarad Nava, Juan Gamez, and Antonio Hernandez are teenage inmates at Sylmar Juvenile Hall in Los Angeles.What makes that such a big deal? Its this capacity for change that, according to Budnick, Cowan, Lear and other prison-reform policy advocates, differentiates the young person from the adult. There are currently no airings of They Call Us Monsters. Im a believer in the parole process, Lear says. As part of the Kennesaw State University community we are committed to creating a culture of inclusion through our journalism and operations. Crime Meet Juan, Jarad, and Antonio, all in their teens, all facing decades in prison. I was more critical than anything, but I think that thats just the person I was at that time., Jarad:Yes, I was given the opportunity to watch the documentary and it was uncomfortable at first watching myself. 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. Have you seen They Call Us Monsters yet and if so what was your reaction to seeing yourself in the film? They Call Us Monsters Juan Gamez (Actor), Antonio Hernandez (Actor), Ben Lear (Director) Format: DVD 155 ratings IMDb 7.0/10.0 $2495 Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime & FREE Returns Prime Video $3.99 $10.99 DVD $24.95 Additional DVD options Edition Discs Price New from Used from DVD September 5, 2017 1 $24.95 $24.95 $19.87 Documentary 2017 1 hr 21 min iTunes. As the Fair Sentencing For Youth organization puts it, the law holds young people responsible for the crimes they committed, but it recognizes that youth are different from adults and gives them a chance to demonstrate remorse and rehabilitation. 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. But each successive measure has passed with more and more support., California seems to be well on the right path, but there are a lot of states that are much further behind in that conversation, he said. They Call Us Monsters 2016 Not Rated 1 h 22 m IMDb RATING 7.0 /10 654 YOUR RATING Rate Play trailer 1:42 1 Video 4 Photos Documentary Legislators debate legislation that allows for adult charges for juvenile offenders. Antonio admits he feels no remorse for his actions, and his promising new start sours soon after his release. As prison reform continues to be a hot topic of conversation, Ben Lears They Call Us Monsters hopes to give voice to those inside the Compound. The film follows three juvenile offenders: Juan Gamez, Antonio Hernandez and Jarad Nava who signed up for a screenwriting class . There is a delicate line between childhood and adulthood. Be more independent. That states legislature also eliminated the chance of life-without-parole sentences for all but a few juvenile offenders and made more young inmates eligible for early parole. His face during this moment, the flicker of anguish and regret, is full of pathos. Since rehabilitation programs continue to be underfunded, the recidivism rate isnt likely to go down. Theyre held in a special wing of the lockup reserved for teens who will be standing trial as adults. Theyd seem like typical teenage boys if they werent awaiting trial for violent crimes. Their task is to create a screenplay that will be produced outside of the prison by their teacher. PBS Independent Lens airs the film on Monday, May 22. The first individual we come across is Antonio, who was arrested at the age of 14-years-old. The proposed bill. . 2017. Sitting in his white undershirt, he tries to reconcile the number of years Jarad. Was there anything that tripped you out or that you learned about yourself after watching the movie? By 2010, about. It follows three residents at Barry J. Nidorf. The process of transforming real details into fiction seems to make the young men especially introspective. sonido original - joxls . Unrated Starring Allegra Acosta, Nate Corddry, Gabriel Cowan. News and Views from the University of Redlands, Read the Notice of Nondiscrimination here. We meet Jarad (arrested at 16), Antonio (at 14), and Juan (at 16) when theyre about to be tried, each facing 90 plus years in prison. 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