THE GREY AREA is an intimate look at women’s issues in the criminal justice system and the unique experience of studying feminism behind bars.
Through a series of captivating class discussions, headed by students from Grinnell College, a small group of female inmates at a maximum security women’s prison in Mitchellville, Iowa, share their diverse experiences with motherhood, drug addiction, sexual abuse, murder, and life in prison. The women, along with their teachers, explore the ambiguous ‘grey area’ that is often invisible within the prison walls, and delve into issues of gender, sexuality, class and race.
The Grey Area premiered at the ArcLight Cinemas Documentary Film Festival in Los Angeles, and won the Best Documentary Award at the Julien Dubuque Int’l Film Festival in April, 2013. The film also screened at the Sarasota Film Festival and at the Through Women’s Eyes Int’l Film Festival in Florida. The Grey Area was picked up for distribution by Women Make Movies and was released on DVD in 2013. Press coverage for the film includes a positive review in Filmmaker Magazine, a DVD recommendation from the renowned Ms. Magazine, and articles in The Des Moines Register, The Fix Magazine and The Altoona Herald.
THE GREY AREA 