Impact Report
APART
FEBRUARY 2023
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Executive Summary
The documentary Apart, directed by Jennifer Redfearn and produced by Tim Metzger, follows mothers in Ohio working to rebuild their lives and reconnect with their families after being incarcerated and separated from their children for years. Independent Lens, the award-winning PBS anthology documentary film series, and Represent Justice, a nonprofit organization using the power of media to change the justice system, partnered with the filmmakers and film participants on multifaceted initiatives to reach and engage audiences.
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Apart premiered on Independent Lens in February 2022, and was watched by 1.5+ million viewers through the broad- cast and PBS streaming platforms. Independent Lens also worked with local PBS stations and nonprofit organizations to host 43 screenings and community discussions to help audiences understand how rising incarceration rates impact their community and build discussions about local solutions. Represent Justice launched a targeted impact campaign and facilitated 61 screenings — including 45 film participant appearances — in prisons and with reentry organizations, business leaders, and elected officials to drive support for reentry programming for women.
Audience surveys collected through the innovative DocSCALE tool reveal that the film taught viewers about the impact of incarceration on families and the challenges facing women upon reentering society. More than three-quarters of viewers were moved to take action after watching the film, most frequently stating a plan to volunteer with or donate to organizations that either support mothers who are currently incarcerated or help women as they return home to their communities.
1.5 M+
Viewers
45
Film Participant Appearances
104
Screenings and Community Discussions
75%
Or More Viewers Planned to Take Action
About The Film
Each year, across the U.S., long term incarceration will sepa- rate over 130,000 children from their mothers—and Ohio has one of the nation’s largest populations of women in prison (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2021).
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The documentary Apart follows three unforgettable mothers—Tomika Daniel, Lydia Loth, and Amanda Freed—as they prepare to return home from an Ohio prison and work to rebuild their lives after being separated from their children for years.
Their stories overlap at the Chopping for Change program, which provides pre-release workforce training and behavioral health services for women. The program is run by Malika Kidd, an advocate who was formerly incarcerated in the same prison.
Filmed over 3 1⁄2 years, Apart traces three women’s steps as they reconstruct lives derailed by prison.
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APART IS A CO-PRODUCTION OF
Red Antelope Films
Independent Television Service (ITVS)IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Chicken & Egg Pictures
Fork FilmsADDITIONAL FUNDING BY:
Meadow Fund
Tribeca Film Institute/
Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund
IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund Cleveland Foundation
Good Gravy Films
LEF Moving Image Fund Mountainfilm
Starry Night Fund
National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation
About The Team
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Jennifer Redfearn
DIRECTOR, PRODUCER, SOUND
Jennifer Redfearn is an Academy Award-nominated director whose credits include Sun Come Up (HBO) and Tocando La Luz (PBS). She also serves as the director of the documentary program at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism.
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Tim Metzger
CINEMATOGRAPHER, PRODUCER
Tim Metzger is an Academy Award-nominated producer and Emmy-nominated cinematographer with over 15 years of experience filming documentaries, including Sun Come Up (HBO), Tocando La Luz (PBS), and The Story of God With Morgan Freeman (National Geographic).
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Rabab Haj Yahya
EDITOR
Rabab Haj Yahya is an award-winning editor of feature documentaries including The Feeling of Being Watched (Tribeca 2018), Speed Sisters (Hot Docs 2015), and the Emmy-nominated web series The Secret Life of Muslims (Peabody finalist, Vox and USA Today, 2016).
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Francisco Bello
EDITOR
Francisco Bello, ACE, is an Oscar and three-time Emmy- nominated editor, producer, and cinematographer whose credits include Salim Baba, War Don Don, Most Beautiful Island, and Desert One.
How Did Apart Reach and Engage Audiences?
The Apart film team, Independent Lens, and Represent Justice co-created a distribution and impact strategy to maximize strengths, clarify roles, and plan a collaborative evaluation.
Brought together by a shared connection to Apart, the film team, Independent Lens, and Represent Justice met early on to create a theory of change. Independent Lens and Represent Justice both brought to the planning process commitments to working at the intersection of films and ending mass incarceration, and Apart marked their first opportunity to work together on a film.
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Together, they developed and rolled out a co- ordinated strategy that best aligned with each organization’s existing partnerships, platforms, and approach. Independent Lens focused on its relationships with general audiences through national broadcast, streaming, and promotional platforms to increase awareness and build empathy among audiences, many of whom did not have a close connection to the criminal legal system.
Represent Justice targeted its efforts on garnering support for women as they reenter their communities by building on their ongoing relationships with residents inside prisons, reentry organizations in communities, system actors, and the business community.
The Power of Public Media
Independent Lens used the power of public media to bring new voices into discussions of injustices in the criminal legal system and challenge the stigma of incarceration.
The film premiered on local public media stations across the country on February 21, 2022, and streamed for free for 30 days on the PBS Video app. Independent Lens promoted the film with its 460,000+ social media followers, launched a strategic media campaign, and hosted a virtual screening and panel discussion to build a broad Apart audience. Social media posts garnered nearly 20,000 reactions, comments, and shares, and more than 200 media outlets featured the film. For the virtual screening, Independent Lens brought together 235 viewers from across the country who shared their real-time reactions to the film with each other via the viewing platform’s chat function.
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This outreach approach successfully brought in audiences that were unfamiliar with the issues raised in the film. Among the Independent Lens broadcast and streaming viewers who shared their thoughts on the film, 91 percent indicated that they did not work for the criminal legal system nor towards its reform. Most of these viewers had not discussed the crim- inal legal system with members of their community in the month prior to viewing the film.
To create a platform for local discussions about the issues raised in the film, Independent Lens partnered with 22 public media stations and 20 other local community organizations, including universities, colleges, libraries, and film festivals to to host additional screenings across the country.
Nearly 2,700 individuals participated in 43 screenings. Screening events brought together community members to watch Apart and discuss the film with individuals leading local efforts in their communities to change harsh sentencing laws and support individuals who have been incarcerated and their families. Many panelists and moderators at the events had personally been impacted by incarceration.
Independent Lens encourages partners to provide honoraria to speakers to compensate them for their time and expertise. Independent Lens provided 21 Apart partners microgrants ranging from $400 to $2,000 to help cover the cost of honoraria and event advertisement, equipment, and staffing for participating in its community screening program.
2,698
Screening Participants
43
Independent Lens Screenings & Community Discussions
21
Microgrants to Screening Partners
1.5 M+
Viewers Across the Country Watched Apart on Independent Lens Platforms
30 DAYS
Free Streaming
How Did Apart Impact Audiences
We asked Apart viewers to share what they learned from the film and what actions they planned to take after watching via the Independent Lens interactive feedback platform, DocSCALE. We heard from 650 Apart viewers.
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Seventy-five percent of viewers indicated that they learned about the effects of incarceration on families from watching Apart, and nearly two-thirds learned about the challenges facing women upon reentering society. Moreover, more than half of the viewers learned about rising incarceration rates among women and extreme sentencing laws for drug offenses.
Many viewers planned to encourage others to watch Apart or to share what they had learned with other members of their community. As one viewer shared, “I will spread this film far and wide with an accompanying discussion of what the groups I share it with can do to facilitate lasting reentry for returning citizens.”
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Viewers connected with the issues raised in Apart. Almost all of the viewers who indicated that they worked for or to reform the criminal legal system, or who were personally impacted by incarceration, indicated that the issues raised in the film were “extremely” or “very” relevant to their community. Importantly, sixty-nine percent of those who had no prior connection to the criminal legal system felt the same way.
Apart not only connected with audiences—it shifted their perspectives of individuals who have substance use disorders or who have been incarcerated. Viewers indicated that, after better understanding the complex challenges faced by the women featured in the film, they will approach members of their community with greater empathy and change how they discuss issues of substance use or incarceration with others.
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We asked viewers: “What is the most significant action you will take after seeing Apart?” The DocSCALE platform then circulated viewers’ ideas to others who could indicate if they planned to take a similar action. More than three-quarters of viewers shared specific actions that they planned to take or indicated they were inspired to take a similar action as another viewer.
Most frequently, viewers shared that they planned to volunteer with or donate to organizations that are supporting mothers who are currently incarcerated or helping women as they reenter society. One event participant summed up the power of the documentary best when they shared: “I will seek to provide restorative practices to empower families of incarcer- ated women and/or those recently released, to help bridge the transition from incarceration to their return home to alleviate stressors that often result during reunification.”
Many viewers planned to contact their elected represen- tatives to advocate for more education and job support services within prisons, and reentry support as individuals transition back into their communities. Others planned to address the root causes of rising incarceration rates by advocating for improved mental health and substance use services in their communities, or changes to harsh sentenc- ing laws for drug offenses.
Moreover, several landlords and employers outlined concrete actions that they will take to make reentry easier, including removing background checks from rental applications and hiring individuals who have been incarcerated.
Who Engaged On DOCScale?
Gender-responsive reentry solutions for women
Represent Justice worked with reentry organizations, elected officials, and business leaders to generate support for gender-responsive reentry solutions for women.
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Represent Justice facilitated 29 screenings with reentry organizations that provide housing, healthcare, counseling, workforce training, and other services for women returning home.
The majority of partners provide services in Ohio, where Apart takes place. Additionally, half of these events took place in April 2022, during Second Chance Awareness Month. Screenings were a platform for reentry organizations to raise awareness about essential services they provide within their communities. The events also served as fundraisers for the hosting organizations, volunteer engagement opportunities, and networking events bringing together formerly incarcerated people with judges and other system actors.
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Represent Justice facilitated 15 screenings with elected officials, business leaders, and system actors who have the power to help women successfully rebuild their lives after prison.
For example, the reentry nonprofit ARCH hosted a screening and luncheon at the Ohio Statehouse for legislators, staffers, and formerly incarcerated women to discuss an omnibus bill legislative package on criminal justice reform that included measures to reduce incarceration rates of women and to support reentry.
The omnibus bill, which also included measures to increase employment opportunities by allowing for the sealing and expungement of criminal records, passed in December 2022.
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Represent Justice also worked with the business coalitions Responsible Business Initiative for Justice, Small Business Majority, and CEO Action for Racial Equity, plus individual businesses to ask companies of all sizes to implement fair-chance hiring policies, and to work with employees to build inclusive organizational cultures.
“The women from the Apart documentary were superb. They were candid and this film showed how reentry works, and how it just takes a few to care and invest in our incarcerated adults!”
Apart screened at the 2022 Annual Ohio Wardens and Super- intendents Association Conference, where the women featured in the film asked executive leadership at Ohio’s prisons and jails to resource more reentry programming like the Chopping for Change program to prepare women for their release.
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Currently pre-release reentry programming like Chopping for Change is available only to a small percentage of women while incarcerated. For some correctional leaders in the room, it was the first time they had connected directly with people who had a successful reentry journey after prison, and the event created proximity for Ohio prison leadership to womens’ reentry experiences. Ronette Burkes, Head of Reentry at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC), said the session was “phenomenal” and that, soon after, her office began receiving requests from wardens who attended the session to bring Apart to their facilities.
“I am facing similar situations, and their journeys give me hope.”
Reaching People Behind the Wall
Through broadcast reach and in-person events, Independent Lens and Represent Justice brought Apart inside prisons and jails to provide hope and inspiration to people behind the wall.
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Media access is highly regulated for individuals who are incarcerated. Although access to most media is restricted, many jails and prisons across the country provide access to public media, including Independent Lens broadcasts, through their regional public media station.
To ensure Apart was seen inside correctional facilities throughout Ohio, Represent Justice partnered with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) Office of Reentry. Across the state, screenings were held in all three women’s prisons, four men’s prisons, two youth detention centers, and two local jails. Additionally, Represent Justice facilitated four screenings at women’s prisons in North Carolina, Maine, and Oklahoma, and at a men’s prison in Idaho. An estimated 400 people attended these screenings.
For people who are currently incarcerated, seeing the journeys of the women in Apart provided encouragement to invest
in their own reentry journeys. Along with Tywana Davis, an Ohio-based Represent Justice Ambassador, the film participants attended all of the Ohio screening events, sharing the successes and challenges of reentry. Seeing and listening to the women who appeared in the film—Malika Kidd, Tomika Daniel, Lydia Loth, and Amanda Freed—made the experience even more powerful.
Apart Impact Events
How Did Apart Impact The Women Participating In The Film?
“If I had two takeaways from this campaign, it would be it gave me purpose and it gave me a voice.”
For Malika Kidd, Tomika Daniel, Lydia Loth, and Amanda Freed — the women featured in Apart — the film’s wide release and impact initiatives provided an opportunity to continue their engagement with the film, encourage others who are navi- gating their own reentry journeys, and share their experience with judges, wardens, corporate leaders, and elected officials.
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Represent Justice shared speaking opportunities at screening events with all four women and secured speaking fees to compensate them for their time and expertise. Independent Lens invited Tomika and Lydia to speak at a national virtual screening. Through interviews and short videos, the four film participants also shared updates about their reentry journeys with the Represent Justice digital audience of nearly 200,000. In total, 45 speaking appearances were scheduled for Malika, Tomika, Lydia, and Amanda, 42 of which were paid, generating over $30,000 in honoraria paid directly to them.
Screening events also sparked meaningful connections for the women featured in Apart. During the campaign, Malika began speaking in men’s correctional facilities across Ohio and gained knowledge that will help her service organization, Chopping for Change, expand to support a program in a men’s prison.
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Amanda is interested in pursuing a career as a public speaker. Her participation in the impact campaign helped her work through her experience entering an alcohol treatment pro- gram after her release from prison. She shared, “When I first started, I felt shame. The campaign helped me work through that ... [and] gave me the chance to talk about it, and be more truthful about it, and it made me more comfortable with it.”
Tomika brought her daughter, Bailee, to a screening and fundraiser, where Bailee was able to see her mom share her story with others in an empowering way for the first time. Tomika said, “I really felt like she was proud that I was her mom at that moment and everyone showed her so much love.”
Looking Ahead
Apart highlights the rising incarceration rates of women, the impact incarcerating mothers has on their families, and the need for gender-responsive reentry solutions. The audience response to Apart showcases the power of film, demonstrating the capacity to raise awareness and help shift the narrative around women and incarceration, from one of punishment to one of rebuilding and growth. There is an opportunity for more storytelling that centers women who are currently and formerly incarcerated, and that also makes it possible for the people most impacted by incarceration to author their own stories.
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People seeking ways to support women with reentry in their own communities can connect with organizations in their cities and towns that provide workforce training, housing, counseling, healthcare, and other wraparound services. People can also pay attention to any legislation that removes bar- riers to employment for people who have served time in jail and/or prison, as well as local businesses they can support that practice fair chance hiring.
