The short film Within These Cages will be followed by the feature presentation of Malqueridas.

Within These Cages
Faith Nolan & Melanya Liwanag Aguila • 7 min • Canada/USA • 2002

Set in San Francisco County Jail, Within These Cages, follows iconic Toronto musician and activist Faith Nolan as she works with a group of women to use singing to transcend the emotional confines of incarceration. American activist and scholar Julia Sudbury explores the layers of systemic marginalization that lead to the criminalization of women and the ongoing efforts to resist the prison-industrial complex.

Malqueridas
Dir. Tana Gilbert • 74 min • Chile • 2023

Malqueridas (2023), Tana Gilbert’s stirring debut feature, weaves a tapestry of personal stories from within San Joaquín, the largest women’s prison in Santiago, Chile. Since recording devices are prohibited, all footage was clandestinely captured by the women themselves.

Elegantly composed narratives, drawn from the prisoners, speak to the violence of a prison system that disproportionately targets the poor. Among its many cruelties is the separation of incarcerated women from their babies who are then placed in the care of (often reluctant) family members or foster care, further marginalizing the mother and child.

Gilbert’s narrative and impressionistic visuals juxtapose the confines of prison with the fluidity of care and intimacy. Though many incarcerated women spend decades behind bars, they are able to form romantic and kinship relationships that transcend mere survival and offer solace and tenderness. Invoking dedication through the metaphors of materiality, Gilbert prints and rescans every frame of the film, expressing not only the economic reality of these women’s lives, but also their intangible and sensorial dimensions.