Books Through Bars, a renowned West Philadelphia non-profit that makes educational resources and programming available to prisoners who are trying to improve themselves and change during their time inside, is hosting a film festival this week at different venues around West Philly to commemorate its 20th anniversary.

The festival features 17 films stretched across six evenings, Dec. 5 through Dec. 12. Each night will include a brief introduction from local organizers and activists who will connect the films to local issues.

Light refreshments – popcorn and cider – will be available for purchase, as will the Books Through Bars 20th Anniversary commemorative poster designed and printed by Eric Ruin (see left, click to enlarge), which is really (really) cool. Proceeds will go toward Books Through Bars’ ongoing work.

The film schedule is below. The venues and times change, so be alert. The Dec. 12th edition, for example, is a matinee.

Wednesday, Dec. 8
WOMEN IN PRISON
7:30 PM @ West Philly Acupuncture, 50th & Baltimore (above Dock St. Pub)
Introduction by Naima Black, from MoMobile (& former lead organizer of the AFSC StopMax Campaign)
Featured films:
Charisse Shumate: Fighting for Our Lives, 2004, 37 min
An examination of the conditions of medical neglect facing women prisoners in the CA system, seen through the lens of Shumate’s efforts to bring a class action lawsuit forward to improve her own and other’s circumstances.
Eyes of the Rainbow, 1997, 45 min
An unusual doc on Assata Shakur, filmed primarily in Cuba, and narrated by fellow political exile Nehanda Abioudon
OUT: The Making of a Revolutionary, 2000, 60 min
A portrait of the life and actions of former political prisoner and current prison activist Laura Whitehorn.

Thursday, Dec. 9
IMMIGRATION DETENTION: The Racialized Face of U.S. Incarceration
7:30 PM @ Cindergarden, 4823 Baltimore Ave.
Introduction by Mia-lia Kiernan, Cambodian Community Organizer
Featured Films:
Exiled in America, 10 min
Uses the portrait of a single family’s experience to highlight the current landscape of immigrant detention and deportation in the U.S.
I Won’t Drown on That Levee & You Ain’t Gonna Break My Back, directed by Ashley Hunt, 2006, 31 min
Looks at the impact of the police state on New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina, as well as the conditions faced by prisoners held in New Orleans Prison Parish at the time of the levee break.
The Least of These: Family Detention in America, 2008, 60 min
Story of the Don Hutto Family Detention Center in Texas, run by the Corrections Corp of America (CCA) and the legal/community efforts to contest conditions there.

Friday, Dec. 10
YOUTH INCARCERATION: The School to Prison Pipeline
7:30 PM @ A-Space, 4722 Baltimore Ave
Introduction by Members of the Youth Art & Self-Empowerment Project (YASP), whose film “Stolen Dreams” will be one of the featured pieces this evening.
Featured Films:
Books Through Bars, produced by Media That Matters, 4 min. A brief piece that draws connections between the increasing criminalization of youth in general, particularly in the context of the public school system, and the juvenile prison system.System Failure, produced by Media That Matters, 8 min. A critical portrait of the California Youth Authority System
Stolen Dreams, 2010, 26 min
A look at the local Philadelphia/Pennsylvania landscape of youth incarceration and its costs, produced by Youth Art & Self-Empowerment Project
CCJT$: At What cost?, 2004, 26 min
An examination of the Connecticut Juvenile Training School, a max facility for youth, produced by Youth Rights Media

Saturday, Dec. 11 – Double Feature!!
POLITICAL PRISONERS: In the U.S. and Internationally
6 PM & 8 PM @ A-Space, 4722 Baltimore Ave
Introduction by Dan Berger, Wild Poppies Collective (6 PM) and David Anthem, BTB (8 PM)
Featured Films:
Through The Wire, directed by Nina Roseblum, 1990, 77 min
An expose of conditions at an underground isolation cellblock constructed at the Federal Corrections Institute in Lexington, KY to house three well-known female political prisoners of the anti-imperialist and Puerto Rican independence movements.
Hunger, directed by Steve McQueen, 2008, 96 min
An intimate cinematic exploration of the conditions faced by IRA prisoners in England’s prisons and, in particular, Bobby Sand’s death during the hunger strikes orchestrated to resist that environment.

Sunday, Dec. 12
THE PRISON ECONOMY
2 PM @ A-Space, 4722 Baltimore Ave
Introduction by Emily Abendroth, BTB
Featured Films:
Excerpt from The Farm: Angola, USA, 1998, 10 min
In its entirety, this film focuses on the lives, stories, and cases of six different men incarcerated in Angola prison. We will be looking at just a single clip of one of those men’s appearance before the Angola parole board.
Excerpt from The Last Slave Plantation and the Angola 3, 2006, 45 min
A look at the history, legacy, and ongoing resistance struggles to current conditions at Angola Prison in Louisiana – narrated by Mumia Abu Jamal.
Prison Town, USA, directed by Po Kutchins & Katie Galloway, 2008, 75 min
Looks at Susanville, CA’s current incarnation as a “prison town,” wherein half of the adults residing there work at one of the area’s three massive prisons.

From Project M.E.O.W.….

Found:

Male cat, Black and White with leather collar on. 58th and Catherine Streets. Please contact Projectmeow@gmail.com. If yours, describe him.

A sampling of things going on around the hoods today. There may be more in the happenings section (our ever-expanding listings). Send your listings to editor [at] westphillylocal.com

• WPEB monthly general meeting • 6 p.m. • WPEB studios • 541b S. 52nd (Between Cedar and Hazel)

The monthly meeting of West Philly’s low-power FM station starts at 6 with an orientation for new members. Committee summaries and public comments will begin at 6:30.

• Motorcycle Maus/Icarus Himself • 7 p.m. • Green Line Cafe • 4426 Locust St. • All Ages • Cover, sliding scale

Here’s an Icarus Himself vid (actually it’s a song, the photo doesn’t change):

From Molly’s owner:

Molly has been missing for three weeks and might be somewhere around 53rd and Catherine. She is an older all black cat, no collar, and is probably very frightened. If you see her please let me know. She has never been outside and we still don’t know how she slipped out. [Note: This is not the same black cat found a few days ago.]

If you see her drop us a line at editor [at] westphillylocal.com and we’ll pass it on.

For 25 years Curtis has been selling Christmas trees at 50th and Baltimore.

“I know I don’t look that old, but what can I say,” he said as he oversaw the loading of another tree – a 6-footer – atop a car roof.

Curtis has a selection of trees ranging from $15 for a 4-foot-or-so to $60 for trees up to about 10 feet. He said there is no way he will run out before Christmas, so look for his stand between the Dock Street Brewing Co. and Cedar Park. In fact, Curtis stressed, if you don’t have a tree by midnight on Christmas Eve, then stop by and he will give you whatever is left over.

Curtis is typically open every day from 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. When you see him make sure you mention how good he looks for his age. He likes that.

We are looking for more places to get a tree. If you have any favorite spots, let us know in the comments or write to us at editor [at] westphillylocal.com.

A New York-based religious leader penned an opinion piece in today’s Inquirer that outlines what many of us here already know – some creative problem-solving needs to be done to help public schools in West Philadelphia.

Howie Beigelman, deputy director of public policy at the Orthodox Union, and a handful of other religious leaders toured West Philadelphia High School, West Catholic High School and Boys’ Latin of Philadelphia Charter School – a public school, parochial school and charter school respectively – in early October. Students First organized the tour. Beigelman highlighted the differences between the three schools, notably that the atmosphere was “less hopeful” at West Philadelphia High, where he observed that teachers often locked their doors during class.

He continues: