Solitary

Inside red onion state prison

SOLITARY tells the stories of several inmates sent to Red Onion State Prison, one of over 40 supermax prisons across the US, built to hold inmates in 8’x10′ solitary confinement cells, 23 hours—a—day. With unprecedented access, this immersive film weaves through prison corridors and cells, capturing the chilling sounds and haunting atmosphere of the prison.

Profoundly intimate, reflective interviews with inmates reveal violent childhoods, the dangers of prison life, and struggles to maintain sanity in the unrelenting monotony of confinement. Interwoven with their stories are the voices of the corrections officers, who are serving a different type of time right alongside the prisoners, and struggle themselves to maintain their humanity.

Filmed over the course of one year, SOLITARY tells the stories of people caught in the complex America penal system and raises provocative questions about what should be considered “cruel and unusual” punishment today.