The Alabama Solution-Inside the Prison system

 

THE ALABAMA SOLUTION

The Alabama Solution
Directed & Produced by Andrew Jarecki & Charlotte Kaufman

Academy Award® Nominee
Documentary Feature Film

Trailer: https://youtu.be/xRNND_uve8I?si=KgskxOpwkaTxmKyy

Website: Film - The Alabama Solution

Watch on HBO Max

2025 - 1hr 57 min.

The Alabama Solution is an upsetting but necessary documentary that you need to watch. What begins as a routine 2019 visit to an Alabama prison by filmmakers Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman turns into something far more pressing. Off camera, incarcerated men pull them aside and tell them terrible things are happening here, and no one on the outside is supposed to know. The secret warning turns into a six‑year investigation into one of the most horrifying and neglected prison systems in the United States.

The film’s strength comes from its unprecedented access and the raw footage captured on contraband cell phones. Through these recordings, the filmmakers uncover a suspicious and brutal death. This death is not the exception, as they soon find out. As they investigate, what emerges is a picture of a system of brutality, corruption, and institutional collapse.

The violence isn't sensationalized; instead, it reveals the everyday reality of people trapped inside a structure that doesn't care about them. The contrast between the state’s PR statements and the inmates’ lived experiences is striking.

What makes this film compelling is that, beyond the exposé, it centers the people who refuse to be ignored or erased. Despite the risks, incarcerated men organize, document, and speak out, building a grassroots campaign for survival and accountability. Their courage becomes the emotional core of the film, shifting it from a story of suffering to one of resistance.

This is not just a film about a broken prison system—it’s a film about the cost of indifference. It forces viewers to take a hard look at the human consequences of neglect and corruption, and it challenges the idea that what happens behind prison walls is somehow separate from the rest of society.

The Alabama Solution is a difficult watch, but an essential one. It exposes a hidden crisis with clarity, compassion, and urgency, giving voice to people who have been systematically silenced and forcing viewers to confront a reality that can no longer be ignored.

Participants:  Melvin Ray, Robert Earl Council, Ricardo Poole and Sandy Ray

ANDRE IS AN IDIOT or is he?

ANDRE IS AN IDIOT

Directed by Tony Benna

Produced by André Ricciardi
Tory Tunnell
Stelio Kitrilakis
Joshua Altman
Ben Cotner

Runtime: 88 minutes    Language: English

Instagram: @andreisanidiotfilm

Website: https://andre.ajointventure.com/

How do you make Cancer look funny?  You view it through Andre Ricciardi's eyes.

This is Andre Ricciardi's story, beginning after he received a Cancer diagnosis and looking back to the choices he made that led him to this life-altering news.

Andre’s career was in advertising, so he built a life around looking at things from odd angles to sell products. This time, though, he’s turning that lens on himself.

Andre’s best friend, Lee, suggested they get partner colonoscopies—an idea Andre immediately dismissed as weird. Lee went ahead on his own and got the all‑clear. Cut to a year later: Andre finally books his colonoscopy, expecting it to be routine so he can get on with his life. But life has a way of redirecting everything. He receives a colon cancer diagnosis and realizes that if he had listened to his friend a year earlier, he might have caught it at a much earlier stage. That’s when it hits him: he’d been an idiot.

Andre is eccentric, darkly funny, and a little warped in the best way. He collects random objects, reads voraciously, and is constantly filled with creative ideas. When he’s faced with his diagnosis, he decides to document his own decline—with Lee joining him on every ridiculous, heartfelt, and chaotic adventure along the way.

Andre's hair is almost a character in this story as you witness it go from crazy to normal to wtf?

This is the best film I’ve seen about what it’s actually like to go through terminal cancer because it’s both painfully real and genuinely hilarious. Andre is brutally honest and somehow manages to hold onto hope, even in the hardest moments.

He’s an oddball paired with a wonderfully normal, deeply supportive wife and family. His wife originally married him as a joke to get citizenship, but she stayed—and together they built a life that’s as unconventional as it is loving.

Cancer is everywhere these days, and stories like this matter. This film shows that even in the midst of treatment, fear, and uncertainty, it’s still possible to live fully, love deeply, and keep your relationships strong.

Release Date: March 6th in Theatres

Threshold-Resilience and Fragility

 THRESHOLD

Directed by: Lars Brinkema and Torsten Brinkema
Featuring: Olympic Gold medalist cross-country skier Jessie Diggins

Executive Producer: Torsten Brinkema, Patrick Dempsey
Producer: Mark Steele, Samantha Taylor

Music by: Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore

THRESHOLD follows Olympic gold medalist Jessie Diggins—the most decorated American cross‑country skier in history—as she confronts the struggle behind her perfect smile: an invisible eating disorder that begins to take over her life at the height of her career.

This feature documentary is not a traditional sports film. It’s an intimate, behind‑the‑scenes look at the pressure to be the best, the stigma surrounding eating disorders, and the long, nonlinear road to recovery. The access is so personal that you feel as though you’re standing inside her support circle, witnessing the emotional weight carried by Jessie and the people who care for her. The film exposes the complexity of a disorder that hides behind a polished façade yet remains widely misunderstood and underrepresented on screen.

Set over the course of a single peak season, THRESHOLD moves fluidly between past and present to uncover the roots of Jessie’s struggle. Present‑day footage with Jessie and the U.S. Ski Team is interwoven with formative moments from her early career, tracing her relentless pursuit of perfection—and the belief that controlling her body was essential to success.

As the season intensifies, the harder she pushes, the sicker she becomes. A serious injury forces Jessie to confront the ways she has been trying to control her life, and she must fight to regain her health if she hopes to continue competing in the sport she loves.

This is ultimately a story about the pursuit of perfection and the sacrifices made along the way. By revealing her vulnerability, Jessie offers a lifeline to others who face the same daily battle. Many people with this disorder suffer in silence; her story shows that relapse is not failure and that asking for help is an act of strength. Through the difficult work of recovery, she reclaims her health and her dreams, continuing in the sport she loves while advocating for mental health, athlete well‑being, and a more holistic culture within elite athletics.

Where to watch:  Peacock, Prime Video and Apple TV