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Publicity Clipping Book for Herman's House at the Hot Docs International Documentary Festival 2012TRANSCRIPT
Herman’s House
Hot Docs International Documentary Festival 2012
Publicity Clipping Book
Directed by Angad Bhalla Produced by Ed Barreveld executive producer Loring McAlpin executive producer Lisa Valencia-‐Svensson producer Original Music by Ken Myhr Cinematography by Iris Ng Film Editing by Ricardo Acosta Sound Department Matthew Chan sound re-‐recording mixer Rob Hutchins foley editor Rob Hutchins sound effects editor Daniel Pellerin sound editor James Mark Stewart sound designer Animation Department Nicolas Brault animator
Herman’s House Directed by Angad Singh Bhalla Canadian Premiere at HOT DOCS Hot Docs Screening Schedule TBLB1 April 27, 2012 9:00:00 PM ROM May 2, 2012 9:15:00 PM TBLB2 May 6, 2012 9:30:00 PM Writer + Director: Angad Singh Bhalla Producer: Lisa Valencia-‐Svensson, Angad Singh Bhalla Executive Producer: Ed Barreveld, Loring McAlpin Editor: Ricardo Acosta DOP: Iris Ng, Angad Singh Bhalla
http://www.hermanshousethefilm.com/ The injustice of solitary confinement and the transformative power of art are explored in Herman’s House, a feature documentary from first-‐time director Angad Singh Bhalla, that follows the unlikely friendship between Jackie Sumell a New York artist, and Herman Wallace, one of America’s most famous inmates, as they collaborate on an acclaimed art project. Herman’s House will have it Canadian Premiere at Hot Docs, April 27, 2012 at tiff Bell Lightbox 1 at 9:00pm. Prior to Hot Docs, Herman’s House had a sneak-‐preview at the True/False Film Fest in Columbia, Missouri, and will have its World Premiere at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, in Durham, North Carolina. In 1972, New Orleans native Herman Joshua Wallace (b. 1941) was serving a 25-‐year sentence for bank robbery when he was accused of murdering an Angola Prison guard and thrown into solitary confinement. Many believed him wrongfully convicted. Appeals were made but Herman remained in jail and—to increasingly widespread outrage—in solitary. In 2001 Herman received a perspective-‐shifting letter from Jackie, a young art student who posed the provocative question: “What kind of house does a man who has lived in a six-‐foot-‐by-‐nine-‐foot cell for over 30 years dream of?” Thus began an inspired creative dialogue, unfolding over hundreds of letters and phone calls and yielding a multi-‐faceted collaborative project that includes the exhibition “The House That Herman Built.” The revelatory art installation—featuring a full-‐scale wooden model of Herman’s cell and detailed plans of his dream home—has brought thousands of gallery visitors around the world, face-‐to-‐face, with the harsh realities of the American prison system. But as Herman’s House reveals, the exhibition is just the first step. Their journey takes another unpredictable turn when Herman asks Jackie to make his dream a reality. While spending 23 hours a day in his cell -‐ a practice that could be considered torture -‐ and waiting to find out if the Louisiana courts will process his latest appeal, he and Jackie are looking for land where they can build his house. “I am so pleased to have Herman’s House premiere at Hot Docs, a festival I have attended for years and am so honored to now participate in,” says director Angad Bhalla. “Making this film showed me how our imaginations can resist even the most brutal forms of punishment. Though the film is finished, the story is not, and I hope viewers experiencing Herman and Jackie’s journey will help us start looking at prisons differently.” There are 2.2 million people in jail in the U.S. More than 80,000 of those are in solitary confinement. Herman Wallace has been there longer than anyone – 40 years and counting. In Herman’s House we meet self-‐confessed “stick-‐up kid” Michael Musser, who credits Herman for helping him turn his life around while in solitary; Herman’s sister Vickie, a loyal and tireless supporter despite her own emotional burden; and former long-‐term solitary inmate and fellow Black Panther activist Robert King who, along with Herman and Albert Woodfox, was one of the so-‐called Angola 3 that became a cause celebre in the 2000s. “I’m not a lawyer and I’m not rich and I’m not powerful, but I’m an artist,” Jackie says. “And I knew the only way I could get (Herman) out of prison was to get him to dream.” With compassion and meaningful artistry, Herman’s House takes us inside the lives and imaginations of two unforgettable characters-‐-‐forging a friendship and building a dream in the struggle to end the “cruel and unusual punishment” of long-‐term solitary confinement. A companion web-‐based interactive project entitled "Inside Herman's House" is currently being produced with the award-‐winning National Film Board of Canada Interactive -‐ a world leader in interactive narrative story-‐telling and winner of over 20 awards. "Inside Herman's House" is slated for release in Fall 2012. Herman’s House was produced by Storyline Entertainment, and Time of Day Productions, in association with the Ford Foundation JustFilms initiative, and with the support of the Ontario Arts Council, the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, Jerome Foundation, SVT and the McAlpin Family. The producers further acknowledge the support of the following organizations: Axyz FX, BRITDOC Foundation Good Pitch Silverdocs, Hamptons International Film Festival, Hot Docs Forum, IFP, POV, Sheffield Doc/Fest, and Tribeca Film Institute.
Interviews Completed Tuesday March 20 The Toronto Standard Interviewer : Joanna Adams
National Post Interviewer: Melissa Leong
Toronto Star Interviewer: Linda Barnard
The Canadian Press Interviewer: Cassandra Szklarski
Roger TV’s Your World This Week Interviewer: Peter Schmiedchen
680 News Radio Interviewer: Gloria Martin
OMNI TV Interviewer: Sushmitha Rao
Hot Docs Live! Interviewer: Lynne Fernie
Friday April 13 Toronto Star phone interview Interviewer: Peter Howell
Tuesday April 24 The Weekly Voice Interviewer: Binoy Thomas
Wednesday, April 25 Just Rights Radio (CIUT) Phone Interview Interviewer: Ariel Chamney
Regent Radio Phone Interview Interviewer: Victor Bains Marshall
Tuesday April 26 CBC National News TV Interviewer: llana Banks
Friday, April 27 Toronto Review of Books Blog Interviewer: Brent Story
Tuesday, May 1 Real Screen Interviewer: Kevin Richie
Wednesday May 2 The Morning Show Global TV
Tuesday May 3 thatchannel.com TV Interviewer: Daniel Katz
Monday May 8 Edgar Magazine | Dazed & Confused Interviewer: Gary Evans
Photo Alert for Canadian Premiere
April 27, 2012
Contacts:
Ingrid Hamilton | 416-‐731-‐3034
Tyler Erdelac | 647-‐802-‐7130
PHOTO ALERT FOR Monday April 27, 2012
HERMAN’S HOUSE Directed by Angad Singh Bhalla Canadian Premiere at Hot Docs 81 mins TIFF Bell Lightbox – Cinema 1 350 King Street West 9:00pm
Special Guests -‐ 8:30pm Red Carpet Arrival Angad Singh Bhalla Jackie Sumell Deepa Mehta Dr. Rubin “Hurricane” Carter John Artis The injustice of solitary confinement and the transformative power of art are explored in Herman’s House, a feature documentary from first-‐time director Angad Singh Bhalla; that follows the unlikely friendship between Jackie Sumell a New York artist and Herman Wallace, one of America’s most famous inmates, as they collaborate on an acclaimed art project.
Hot Docs 2012: Ai Weiwei, Theo Fleury and a famous Icelandic penis museum
By Melissa Leong | Posted March 20
Herman’s House Director: Angad Singh Bhalla In 10 words or less: “Forty years in solitary, what would you dream of?” The jist: “It’s about the relationship between Herman Wallace, the longest serving solitary confinement prisoner in America, who is a Black Panther activist, and an artist, Jackie Sumell. About nine years ago, she asked him what his dream home would look like and they’ve been working on this collaborative art project.” A scene to watch: “Herman’s sister, who is rarely out of New Orleans and has never been on a plane before, comes to the gallery in New York where Herman’s House exhibit is showing. She sees an actual life-‐size replica of his cell and she’s totally overwhelmed.”
This article can also be seen at the following media outlets:
Ai Weiwei film to open Toronto's Hot Docs festival Posted March 20
Other Canadian films on the schedule include:
Herman’s House, by Angad Singh Bhalla, a profile of Black Panther activist Herman Wallace.
Films about Franco’s soap days, Fleury’s childhood bound for Hot Docs By Cassandra Szklarski | Posted on March 20
First-‐time feature director Angad Singh Bhalla said he spent nearly five years working on his film “Herman’s House,” about imprisoned Black Panther activist Herman Wallace.
“We started working in June 2007 and it was an amazing journey to start there and now be here at the Hot Docs press conference being ready to premiere,” said the 32-‐year-‐old Bhalla.
“I can’t think of a better festival to premiere it than in your hometown in front of your friends in family, a festival I’d grown up coming to.”
This article can also be seen at the following media outlets:
Hot Docs 2012 Line Up Unveiled By CS | Posted on March 21
In the competitive Canadian Spectrum program, notable films include: Christy Garland’s THE BASTARD SINGS THE SWEETEST SONG, the story of a tumultuous mother-‐son relationship in Guyana; Omar Majeed and Ryan Mullins’ THE FROG PRINCES, the story of a developmentally challenged theatre group’s struggle to mount an ambitious production; Angad Singh Bhalla’s HERMAN’S HOUSE, a trip through the years with jailed Black Panther activist Herman Wallace; and Jonah Bekhor and Zach Math’s THE FINAL MEMBER, which looks at Iceland’s penis museum’s search for a critical artifact.
HotDocs 2012 Preview -‐ "Herman's House" (Falsely Imprisoned Black Panther Collabs On Art Project) Festivals by Courtney | Posted on March 29
This looks interesting to me. Scheduled to screen at the HotDocs Film Festival beginning April 26, and directed by Angad Singh Bhalla, the synopsis for Herman's House reads: Once a slave-‐breeding estate and now known as the Alcatraz of the South, Angola prison sprawls over 18,000 Louisiana acres and houses over 5,000 prisoners. For almost 40 years Herman Wallace, a Black Panther member falsely convicted of murdering a prison guard, has been kept in a tiny cell in solitary confinement. In 2001, when young artist and activist Jackie Sumell asked him to collaborate on an art project by imagining his ideal house, it was the beginning of an extraordinary friendship and a journey into the racialized brutality of the American justice system. Shot over five years, the film follows Jackie and Herman—whose voice we hear only by phone—as they plan the house for an exhibition in NYC, the exhibition’s successful opening and Jackie’s trip to a post-‐Katrina Louisiana where Herman’s sister, his lawyer and released Black Panther members bear witness to an extraordinary survivor of injustice.
Interesting, right? There's a much longer synopsis on the film's website which you can access HERE, along with links to its Facebook and Twitter pages.
Herman’s House: Trailer Posted on March 29
Once a slave-‐breeding estate and now known as the Alcatraz of the South, Angola prison sprawls over 18,000 Louisiana acres and houses over 5,000 prisoners. For almost 40 years Herman Wallace, a Black Panther member falsely convicted of murdering a prison guard, has been kept in a tiny cell in solitary confinement. In 2001, when young artist and activist Jackie Sumell asked him to collaborate on an art project by imagining his ideal house, it was the beginning of an extraordinary friendship and a journey into the racialized brutality of the American justice system. Shot over five years, the film follows Jackie and Hermanwhose voice we hear only by phoneas they plan the house for an exhibition in NYC, the exhibitions successful opening and Jackies trip to a post-‐Katrina Louisiana where Hermans sister, his lawyer and released Black Panther members bear witness to an extraordinary survivor of injustice.
Canadian director Angad Singh Bhalla talks about his Hot Docs entry Herman’s House, a film about imprisoned Black Panther member Herman Wallace teaming up with an American artist to design his dream house. Herman Wallace is a Black Panther member who is serving a life sentence in a Louisiana prison. He has been kept in solitary confinement in a six-‐foot by nine-‐foot cell for almost 40 years in Angola Prison. After learning about his case in 2001,Canadian artist and activist Jackie Sumell wanted to collaborate with Wallace on an art project. She wrote him with one question -‐What kind of house does a man in solitary dream about? "I'm not a lawyer, I'm not rich, and I'm not powerful but I'm an artist and I knew the only way I could get him out of prison was to get him to dream," explains Sumell when asked why she took on this project. Herman’s House follows Sumell and Wallace as they plan the debut of Wallace’s design for an exhibition in New York City. Sumell also takes a trip to visit with Wallace’s sister as well as his lawyer. Sumell also interviews other Black Panther members who have since been released from prison. Director Angad Singh Bhalla joins The Morning Show to talk about his motivation and the Hot Docs screenings.
HERMAN'S HOUSE -‐ Review By Greg Klymkiw -‐ Hot Docs 2012 Must See #1 Posted on April 16
Herman's House (2012) dir. Angad Bhalla Starring: Jackie Sumell, Herman Wallace **** By Greg Klymkiw Herman Wallace -‐ African-‐American. Black Panther activist. Commits armed bank robbery. Sentenced to 25 years in Louisiana's Angola Prison (a former slave breeding plantation). 1972: Wrongfully convicted of murdering a prison guard. The evidence is clearly trumped up. Even the wife of the murdered guard believes a miscarriage of justice might have occurred and wants the truth. Appeal after appeal. Nothing. Herman Wallace was placed in solitary confinement. In 1972. 23 Hours a day. Every single day. A cell measuring six feet by nine feet. It is now 2012. Solitary confinement is torture. Herman Wallace has been tortured for 40 years. Repeat. 40 years. Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to America. Herman's House is an extraordinary film about extraordinary people in a country that has sadly learned nothing since 1776 but the right of might, the power of the dollar and the exploitation of the poor -‐ a country that purports to be the most powerful democracy in the world, but is little more than a backwards Totalitarian State -‐ run by a greedy, mean-‐spirited, prejudiced Old Boys Club. Or, call them what you will -‐ an oligarchy, gangsters, the New World Order -‐ or Hell, why not all three? Bush I, Bush II, Clinton, Obama, all those before and all those who will come after -‐ they're just puppets anyway. To paraphrase Michael Corleone in Godfather II: They're all a part of the same hypocrisy. The people, the Real People, are the victims. Surprisingly they persevere. They shed their victimhood by fighting back -‐ not with fists, but with the weaponry of activism, the fighting spirit of the soul. This is a movie that will anger, frustrate and yet finally, move you to tears as it explores real compassion and understanding amongst those with the only power they have -‐ their hearts, their minds and most of all, imagination. At times, the storytelling in this miraculous work is so artfully wrought, one occasionally forgets it's a documentary and you find yourself thinking, "Jesus, if this really happened, things are more fucked in America than I ever imagined." Then comes the proverbial pinch. You're not dreaming. You're not watching a neo-‐realist drama. These are real people, this really happened and is, in fact, really happening. In America.
When the New York artist Jackie Sumell heard about the plight of Herman Wallace, she began to correspond with him. In time they forged a deep friendship on opposite ends of the country -‐ one free, the other in prison. And not just prison -‐ solitary confinement. For a crime he did not commit. (And even if he did, which he clearly did not, but just saying -‐ even if he did, you do not torture someone for 40 years. Unless, of course, you are a Totalitarian State -‐ which, though some try to deny it -‐ America most certainly is.) Jackie began to use her power as an artist to imagine and create the world in which Herman lived. Soon, she began to plumb his imagination and try to discover what a man in solitary might concoct if he could have his very own dream home. Working strictly from Herman's specifications, Jackie created an art piece that represented Herman's design. Not only did Jackie create a work of art (that has toured to five countries), she was able to provide a vehicle for Herman to plumb the depths of his dreams. Director Angad Bhalla spent five years following this story. We meet with Herman's family, friends and former cell mates and are privy to telephone conversations between Jackie and Herman. On subject matter alone, this would have been a fine film, but it goes well beyond having great material. This is a real movie made by a real filmmaker, surrounded by a first-‐rate team of collaborators -‐ all of whom have rendered a picture of finely wrought drama and cinematic artistry of a very high order. Ricardo Acosta's editing skillfully juggles several years worth of material and delivers a compelling forward thrust. The top-‐drawer cinematography by Bhalla and Iris Ng is full of superlative compositions and a magnificent, deft use of light. Punctuating much of the film are a series of stunning animated sequences by Nicolas Brault that blend perfectly with the overall mise-‐en-‐scene. The sound mixing by the legendary Daniel Pellerin is especially brilliant -‐ capturing the delicate blend of superb location sound, voice-‐over, Ken Myhr's highly evocative musical score and most astoundingly, the recordings of Herman on the phone (eerily and occasionally punctuated with a computer generated voice that reminds us that the State Correctional Institute is monitoring the conversation). Welcome to 1984 in 2012. Welcome, once again, to America!!! What I love about this film is that it's infused with an independent spirit. The production value and artistry are of a high order, but there's nothing slick about it. Nothing feels machine-‐tooled in the way so many contemporary documentaries are fashioned. It's grass-‐roots storytelling -‐ replete with passion, vigour and a deep emotional core. And, Goddamn! It's one hell of a great story! "Herman's House" is playing in Toronto at the Hot Docs 2012 Film Festival on Fri, Apr 27 9:00 PM -‐ TIFF Bell Lightbox 1, Wed, May 2 9:15 PM -‐ The ROM Theatre and Sun, May 6 9:30 PM -‐ TIFF Bell Lightbox 2. For tickets, visit the Hot Docs website HERE. If you miss it at Hot Docs, I can't imagine the film not being picked up and handled properly by a great theatrical distributor. This movie needs to be seen far and wide.
Hot Docs 2012 By Linda Barnard | Posted on March 20 Among them is writer-‐director Angad Singh Bhalla, whose Herman’s House will have its Canadian premiere at Hot Docs. It’s the story of 72-‐year-‐old inmate Herman Wallace, who has spent 40 years living in solitary confinement in Angola Prison in New Orleans. New York artist Jackie Sumell asked him to take part in an unusual art project, designing his dream home via letters and phone calls. The result is a full-‐scale replica of the home, down to the three gardens he envisioned at the front for people to walk through “and smile.”
“I want the audience to imagine his life as he imagines their lives outside,” said Bhalla. She added that Wallace, who lives 23 hours a day in a 2-‐by-‐3-‐metre cell, has not seen the film. Inmates in solitary don’t have those kinds of privileges.
15 Hot Docs Must-‐Sees By Sky Goodden | Posted on April 20
Herman's House
Director: Angad Singh Bhalla | 81 minutes | Canada | 2012 Program: Canadian Spectrum After living in solitary confinement for 30 years, what kind of house would you envision? When artist Jackie Sumell asks jailed Black Panther activist Herman Wallace, it triggers a trip through years of brutal injustice.
Arts and Entertainment
Canadians Document The World: Hot Docs 2012 -‐ Starts This Thursday Posted on April 22
We've got a list of the docs by Canadian directors that are playing at the Fest below, along with trailers and clips for many of the films. Click the links in red to find out more about the films on the Hot Docs website.
Herman's House -‐ Screening Fri. April 27 at 9:00 PM, Wed. May 2 at 9:15 PM, Sun. May 6 at 9:30 PM
Hot Docs 2012 preview
The good, the bad, the incomprehensible By Ezra Winton | Posted on April 24
The Incomprehensible: MIA Political Canadian Docs
Word on doc street is it was a bad year for Canadian documentary (political or otherwise), and so Hot Docs must have had its hands tied in terms of robust Canadian representation.
Herman's House is among just 29 Canadian docs chosen for regular programming at this year's festival.
Herman’s House, a rich social justice imaginary that wonders what kind of house imprisoned Black Panther Herman Wallace might live in.
5 Hot Docs films to whet your appetite By Eli Glasner | Posted on April 25
Herman’s House follows a young artist as she uproots her life in order to build a dream home for a Black Panthers member who has spent 40 years in solitary confinement. An unlikely pairing, the two make for fascinating subjects. Herman Wallace is serving time in Louisiana’s state penitentiary for the stabbing of a prison guard in 1972, though many consider the evidence that convicted him circumstantial at best. It was violence that led to Wallace being locked up, but in prison he’s become a sage, calming presence. In the film, we only hear Wallace’s voice as he chats with his artist friend. The phone line crackles, but his patience and good humour come through. The woman on the outside is Jackie Sumell, a New York artist who heard about Wallace’s case and began writing to him. Eventually, she decides the best way for him to “escape” is to build his dream house. Watching her dedicate her life to this unlikely goal is a heartbreaking affair. Toronto filmmaker (and friend of Sumell) Angad Singh Bhalla follows her to New Orleans and captures the strain on these unlikely partners. While Bhalla doesn’t dive too deeply into the details of Wallace’s incarceration, his artful touches – like the vision of Sumell pedalling her way through the wide streets of New Orleans, as Wallace’s voice rumbles in the background – make Herman’s House an arresting experience.
Hot Docs in the house! One of a kind film fest is back By Liz Braun | Posted April 25
TORONTO – Hot Docs returns!
Today is opening day of the 19th annual Hot Docs film festival, the most anticipated moviethon in this city every year. Hot Docs is the leading documentary film festival in North America, and this year’s lineup includes 189 movies from 51 countries.
MOVIE CAPSULES (Compiled by Jim Slotek)
Herman’s House
Director: Angad Singh Balla
There’ve been any number of films made about Louisiana’s hellish Angola prison, but this one about Herman Wallace, a Black Panther who has spent most of the last 40 years in an 8x6-‐foot solitary cell for fuzzy reasons, is particularly moving. The film documents artist Jackie Sumell’s gallery project — a recreation of Wallace’s cell set against a model of his “dream home” (as detailed by the convict in a series of phonecalls). We watch as Jackie’s obsession begins to overwhelm her, as she takes on the task of recreating Herman’s dream home as a New Orleans boys’ shelter.
Hot Docs: Herman’s House By Jacqueline Whyte Appleby
Herman’s House follows the friendship and working relationship of artist and activist Jackie Summell and Herman Wallace, a Louisiana prisoner who had been in solitary confinement for more than 30 years.
The architecture of Wallace’s existence—6 feet by 9 feet—are horrifying to Jackie, and she begins working with Herman to articulate, and then visualize, the dimensions of his dream home. Their deep, respectful friendship is filmed over five years as Jackie mounts and tours with “Herman’s House,” an exhibit contrasting Herman’s day-‐to-‐day reality with a scale model of his own design. At a certain point, the exhibit is deemed insufficient, and Jackie and Herman decide she should buy a plot of land and build his house while he awaits parole.
Solitary confinement being what it is, Herman never appears in his own film, but his rich voice comes to us through frequent phone calls with Jackie. Herman’s thoughtful views on violence, family, and perseverance are both a balm and a motivation for Jackie as she traverses the streets of New Orleans, looking for the right plot of land.
Herman’s House is hopeful in its concreteness. Issues of racial injustice, poverty, and cruel incarceration practices are always present, but the film’s fairly tight focus on Jackie’s relationship with Herman and goals on his behalf make it a wonderfully personal story.
Herman’s House By Adam Nayman | Posted on April 25
GRID RATING: 7/10
Directed by Angad Singh Bhalla. 81 min. April 27, 9 p.m., Lightbox; May 2, 9:15 p.m. and May 6, 9:30 p.m., ROM.
Art’s capacity to transport us beyond our circumstances is the buried theme of this seemingly straightforward dual portrait of a former Black Panther activist in solitary confinement and a young female artist who becomes his correspondent and advocate. The title refers to a project to make his lavish “dream house” a reality—an ambitious architectural undertaking with a cutting political edge.
This week: Top 5 Hot Docs By Nina Boccia | Posted April 25
From April 26 to May 6, Hot Docs in Toronto features a massive selection of films and documentaries that include glimpses into the lives of prolific artists and explorations of major urban centres. Here are five must-‐sees:
3. Herman's House
Filmed over five years, this doc follows artist/activist Jackie Sumell as she corresponds with Herman Wallace, a Black Panther member falsely accused of murdering a prison guard who has been living in solitary confinement in Louisiana's Angola prison for 40 years. In 2001, Sumell wrote to Wallace, asking, "What kind of house does a man who has lived in a six-‐foot-‐by-‐nine-‐foot cell for over 30 years dream of?" While his answer was initially designed to inform an exhibition installation, Wallace asks Sumell to make his dream home come true.
Select reviews of the films at the 2012 HotDocs festival Posted on April 26
The following mini reviews of select Hot Docs films are by James Adams, Guy Dixon, Rick Groen, Liam Lacey, Gayle MacDonald, Dave McGinn, Kate Taylor and Brad Wheeler. Films are rated on a four-‐star system and are presented in order of descending star rating.
Herman’s House Angad Singh Bhalla (Canada) TWO AND A HALF STARS
Herman Wallace has served more time in solitary confinement than possibly any prisoner in the U.S. penal system. Yet behind bars, after embracing the self-‐pride of the Black Panther movement, he has become a force of peace and reason. Jackie Sumell is a New York artist who recreated his tiny cell in an art gallery and is trying to get his dream house built in New Orleans for his (she hopes) eventual release. As we follow this process – and yet are understandably never able to see Wallace on film, or even learn his full story – there’s an inevitable sense of detachment throughout. Truly a very difficult story to put on film. G.D.
Hot Docs 2012: Heidy’s Top Picks By Heidy | Posted on April 26
Continuing our Hot Docs coverage, this list contains films that deal with human rights issues, corporate greed, women’s inequality, life-‐threatening illnesses and the passion that fuels art. These are, for now, my top picks. Do note I have yet to see other films during the festival but for now, keep these in mind and go get your tickets soon!
Herman’s House Synopsis: After living in solitary confinement for 30 years, what kind of house would you envision? When artist Jackie Sumell asks jailed Black Panther activist Herman Wallace, it triggers a trip through years of brutal injustice.
My thoughts: Since Wallace is still in solitary confinement, he is never seen on-‐camera. However, we get to know through his talks with director Angad Singh Bhalla and his regular phone conversations with Sumell. Through the film Bhalla presents us with issues like social and racial injustice, personal struggle on part of Sumell. We do see the art installation she is able to put on with Wallace’s design for his ‘dream house’ on display as well as a wood replica of the 6′x9′ cell he’s been made to live in. But we also see how Sumell, at the request of Wallace, looks for land on which to live his ‘dream house.’ The film, like Sumell’s artworks, should make you question the ‘rationale’ behind life imprisonment and the U.S. penal system as a whole.
Meanwhile, the Louisiana courts consider Herman's latest appeal. Along the way we meet former "stick-‐up kid" Michael Musser; Herman's sister Vickie, a loyal and tireless supporter; and former long-‐term solitary
The 2012 Hot Docs festival, a Quick TRB Primer By Brett Story | Posted on April 26
Here are just a few of the films we’ve got on our radar: Herman’s House, about former Black Panther Herman Wallace, imprisoned in solitary confinement for the last forty years, and his artist collaborator Jackie Sumell, who “builds” Wallace’s dream house in an attempt to break both his mind, and body, free.
Films document artists as activists By Lynn Fenske | April 27
"The House That Herman Built" art exhibit by Jackie Sumell preceeds companion film Video: 'Herman's House' documents artist as activist
Films screening at Toronto’s Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival are often thought-‐provoking vehicles for championing an underdog. This year is no exception.Hot Docs’ opening night film Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry set the tone for a collection of films screening at this year’s festival that document artistic activism and conscientious objection to authority. They
include 5 Broken Cameras, Back to the Square, One Fine Day, United in Anger: A History of ACT UP, We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists and We Are Wisconsin. Of particular interest is a Canadian production Herman’s House (Storyline Entertainment/Time of Day Productions) about artist Jackie Sumell’s crusade to build a house designed in partnership with jailed Black Panther activist Herman Wallace. Sumell and Wallace are an unlikely but formidable duo. Wallace is an aging black man, an inmate at Angola prison in Louisiana where he has resided in solitary confinement since 1972. Sumell is a young white woman from New York City, a multi-‐media artist who, as a student, wrote to Wallace and posed the provocative question “What kind of house does a man who has lived in a six-‐foot-‐by-‐nine-‐foot cell for over 30 years dream of?” The result is Herman’s house, conceived by Wallace and carefully articulated to Sumell through hundreds of letters and telephone calls over the last 11 years.
Sumell’s meticulous interpretation of Wallace’s vision led to her art exhibition entitled The House that Herman Built and the making of Herman's House by Toronto filmmaker Angad Singh Bhalla. Today Sumell continues her crusade to finance and build Herman’s house in New Orleans while Bhalla works on a companion interactive documentary Inside Herman’s House with funding from the National Film Board of Canada.
Arts & Media
Herman's House: The Panther Cage By Humberto DaSilva | Posted on April 27 Herman's House, a documentary by Toronto filmmaker Angad Singh Bhalla, will be premiering at the 2012 Hot Docs film festival.
The film documents the symbiosis between a prisoner and an artist. Jackie Sumell is a New York artist aching to make her political art more immediate, and relevant. Herman Wallace is a convicted bank robber sadly distinguished for having spent more time in solitary confinement than any other prisoner in America.
Before connecting with Herman, Jackie's life was taken up with conceptual political art such as collecting women's shaven pubic hair to protest the policies of George Bush. But now her magnificent obsession is to build a house that he imagines in his confinement.
The project begins with her building an art installation consisting of his solitary cell replicated in scale. The film's opening scene is of her sanding down a wooden replica of his toilet. When displayed as art, the claustrophobic confinement of the cell is painfully real. A scene where his sister tries to find a comfortable position to endure a few moments in the cell is especially poignant.
The fact that a human being has been kept in such confinement for 40 years becomes suddenly, and evidently, monstrous. The fact that these conditions are the result of his Black Panther activism are a painful reminder that cruel and unusual punishment is reserved for political prisoners in American jails.
Herman's House follows Sumell's experience of trying to make Wallace's dream house a reality. She moves to Louisiana to be near Wallace in that state's infamous Angola penitentiary. Wallace himself narrates the film in telephone calls from prison, but is never seen. This is very effective for it emphasizes that he is locked so far down into Americas penal system that he America's living disappeared. Sumell is his soul existent outside incarceration. But even his dream house is an expression of the damage that a lifetime of incarceration has done to him. When the computer aided design drawings for his dream home are interpreted by various architects, it is apparent that he is designing a luxuriant prison in his mind. Even his imagination has been locked down.
But that does not mean that Herman Wallace is a broken man. His encounter with Black Panther politics in prison has awakened in him a political consciousness that is tantamount to a zen state. He is able to offer comfort to his artist soul sister, and his actual sister when life on the outside, and its injustice, weigh heavy on them. Yet he is the one that should long ago have been driven to madness by his cruel and unusual circumstance. The strength of the man, and his clear eyed acceptance of his situation, defies the imagination.
Herman’s House Building this home proves to be disappointing and barely worth the effort.
By Kevin Scott | Posted on April 27
Imagine, for a second, that you are a Black Panther who has been imprisoned for 35 years. A young woman, hearing of your solitary confinement, approaches you and stumbles upon the notion of having you design your dream home. Now, you’re not all that into houses, but you figure what the hell—and she goes ahead builds a model of your wildest whims and fancies as a well-‐received art project. In a sane world, this is where the sweet, albeit slight, story ends. Not for Herman Wallace and Jackie Sumell. Instead, Wallace—imprisoned for robbery and maybe killing a guard (the film barely touches on this crucial point)—has the bright idea that Sumell should buy some land and build his house, down to the giant swimming pool with a panther stenciled on the bottom. Sumell is sweet and well-‐intentioned but she and her lofty artistic ambitions do not make for a compelling narrative. The production is also marred by sound inconsistencies and other production misfires (in one interview, someone walks in front of the camera). Wallace is only heard by phone, usually accompanied by old, indistinguishable films being dramatically projected onto a concrete wall or, in an unfortunate decision, random children in a park. Some may be moved by the bold and risky creative endeavour Sumell has undertaken, but more are likely to see it as not nearly worth the effort.
Hot Docs 2012 preview
By Chandra Menard | Posted on April 27 Canadian highlights include the father-‐son martial arts film Legend Of A Warrior, The Boxing Girls Of Kabul, Herman's House, and Najeeb Mirza's Buzkashi!, that goes into the world of a horse-‐riding battle sport played in the Tajikistani mountains.
6 films to add to your 2012 Hot Docs schedule Herman's House With Herman's House, Toronto filmmaker Angad Singh Bhalla tells three stories. First, that of Herman Wallace, who has been in a 6-‐by-‐9-‐foot solitary confinement cell for nearly 40 years in Louisiana. Second, that of Jackie Sumell, an American artist who takes interest in Wallace and encourages him to think up what he would like his home to look like and takes steps to design and exhibit it. The third is the most compelling, a peek inside the long term and quite complex relationship between Wallace and Sumell, including their motivations for collaborating. (CM)
Fri, Apr 27 9:00 PM, TIFF Bell Lightbox 1 Wed, May 2 9:15 PM, The ROM Theatre Sun, May 6 9:30 PM, TIFF Bell Lightbox 2
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HotDocs 2012: Herman’s House or The House That Determination Built By Addison Wylie | Posten on April 29
Herman’s House (DIR. Angad Singh Bhalla)
Herman Wallace has been imprisoned since 1967 for robbery charges. In 1972, he was then convicted of a crime he claims he was not involved with but, nonetheless, was placed in solidarity confinement and sentenced to life. This caught the eyes and ears of artist/activist Jackie Sumell. Sumell was awe-‐struck to find out Wallace’s history and was determined to help him. Jackie asked Wallace to describe his dream house. Once the blueprints were laid out, Jackie made it her goal to build Herman’s perfect house.
I was worried about the film’s rating because of the occasional F-‐bomb droppage and some footage from a past protest Jackie Sumell took part in. I think young people need to see something like this, especially teens who are having run-‐ins with the law, because it not only shows how bare the living conditions of solitary confinement are but it also shows how it effects
Funding docs getting tougher, filmmakers say Posted on April 30 International partners
Documentary producer Peter Wintonick is a longtime fan of crowd-‐funding, but says it will only go so far.
"Realistically, an average feature-‐length documentary costs half a million dollars and the amount you could raise through a crowd is $40,000 or $50,000. So it's not a way to finance a movie, but it could be a component."
Wintonick says he's increasingly relying on international partners to help finance doc projects, including turning to "the Scandinavians, the Germans, the French, the Japanese — the cultures that have a preference for long-‐form documentaries," he said.
An example of this, for instance, is Herman's House, a Hot Docs film about an usual friendship that develops between a New York artist and a prisoner in solitary confinement. Toronto filmmaker Angad Singh Bhalla made the film with mostly American money. He's now focusing on a web-‐based version with funding from the NFB.
Kastner worries, however, that Canadian content could be lost when teaming with international partners.
"Every other documentary filmmaker I know — including my own nephew — who is forced to go to other countries, like Germany, where they say 'Well, we want German content.' So in the end, very little of Canada survives on our television screens."
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Hot Docs 2012: Weekend Recap By Genevieve Walker | Posted on April 30
HERMAN’S HOUSE
Meet Herman Wallace, a Black Panther member falsely accused of murdering a prison guard and locked in solitary for almost 40 years. Meet Jackie Sumell a head strong New York artist/activist.
Their story is a an extraordinary and sometimes heartbreaking struggle. She first tries to just help him out of his cage by asking him to imagine his perfect house, a house dreamed up by a man who’s spent decades in a 6X9 box. She then exhibits this hoping to gain awareness and support for Herman. It becomes bigger than either of them dreamed when plans for Herman’s House become a reality.
The film touches on the moral and legal fairness of keeping a prisoner locked in solitary for decades–as Herman’s case is up for evaluation every year and is never given proper consideration. But mostly it chronicles the relationship between Jacqui and Herman over several years and how it changes them both.
A powerful human story of a spirit that couldn’t be broken–and the foundation of a brighter future!
Review: Herman’s House – Hot Docs 2012 By Katarina Gligorijevic | Posted on May 2
This film screens twice more. Catch it Wednesday May 2nd at the ROM and Sunday May 6th at TIFF Bell Lightbox! In Herman’s House, director Angad Singh Bhalla explores the strange relationship between imprisoned Black Panther Herman Wallace and artist Jackie Sumell. Sumell was profoundly moved by an interaction with Robert King, who along with Wallace and a third prisoner, Albert Woodfox, made up the Angola 3 — men who
were all sent to solitary confinement in 1972 for killing a prison guard. King was released in 2001 after a lengthy appeals process, but the other two men are still there.
After hearing about Wallace’s case (he’s now spent nearly the past 40 years in a six-‐by-‐nine foot prison cell), Sumell decides to write him a letter and ultimately draw attention to his case through an art installation which eventually grows into a larger project. Sumell gets Wallace to describe his ideal house to her, which she then designs based on his descriptions. The installation, “The House that Herman Built” has been shown in 12 galleries in five countries, and Sumall has continued to work on building an actual house based on the designs, in New Orleans.
Herman Wallace’s story is truly harrowing. While in the Angola prison in Louisiana, he was wrongfully accused of killing a prison guard, and was eventually convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Since then, he’s spent almost an entire four decades in solitary confinement. One of the interview subjects in the film even notes that nobody in the country has been held in solitary confinement longer. At another point, Herman himself says “I was 31 when I came into this cell, I’m 69 now”, a disturbing statement indeed.
Allowing him to dream outside of the boundaries of his cell through this project with Jackie Sumell is a beautiful thing, but it’s also fascinating from a psychological perspective. When architects analyze Herman’s ideas for his ideal house, they talk about how oppressive and prison-‐like it seems. There are no free-‐flowing open spaces here. It’s full of small rooms and corridors. And yet, when Herman talks about the house, he talks about it representing what he’s been through, which makes his design seem very appropriate.
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Hot Docs’ Hot Guests By Sandy Mandelberger | Posted on May 3
• Jackie Sumell from HERMAN’S HOUSE (Angad Singh Bhalla, Canada) – Artist and activist Jackie Sumell asks imprisoned Black Panther Herman Wallace to collaborate on an art project by imagining his dream house.
Hot Docs 2012: My Thoughts on Herman's House Posted on May 3
Herman's House is about two people -‐ Herman Wallace and Jackie Sumell. Wallace was Black Panther member, who was falsely accused of murdering a prison guard and has been kept in solitary confinement at Angola prison for about 40 years. Jackie is an artist and activist, who collaborated with Wallace on an art project in which she would design his ideal house, which kick-‐starts a friendship and a very touching and sad story. Throughout the film, Wallace is only heard through telephone interviews, in which he talks about his time in solitary confinement and his dreams about he would do if he was released. The bulk of the film focuses on Jackie and her mission to raise awareness to Wallace's situation by creating her art project, which was shown as an exhibition in over 7 countries. Afterwards, Jackie sets out on a goal to actually build the house she and Wallace designed. Even though it's not at the forefront of the story, the film does raise some issues about the penitentiary system. It is argued the Wallace's extended time in solitary confinement is cruel and unusually punishment, especially since the prison seems to be purposely keeping him their, without giving his case a proper review. The film follows Jackie over a number of years and even though she faces some hardships in her goal to both free Wallace and build his house, she refuses to give up on him. It is definitely sad that Wallace, who at the time the film was made was pushing 70, is more likely now to die in prison than see the outside world again.
Overall, I thought it was a decent enough doc. Of course, being a bit of an activist film, viewers are encouraged to visit the film's website and learn more about the cause. 8/10
Hot Docs 2012: Wrap-‐Up Posted on May 6
Now's the time I list my favourite films and moments of the festival. Honourable Mentions
Herman's House.
A review of the compelling documentary Herman's House by Ezra Winton on May 4, 2012
It’s hard to make a house without materials, and even harder if you are in solitary confinement in a US prison and have been there for forty years. What is required in that situation is imagination and perseverance, mixed with a healthy dose of love and anger — all of which the wonderful new documentary Herman’s House deliver.
Directed by Angad Singh Bhalla and produced by the keepin-‐it-‐real folks at Storyline, Herman’s House was deservedly very well-‐received at Hot Docs this year. The film follows New York artist Jackie Sumell who forges a relationship with former Black Panther Herman Wallace, who is locked up at Louisiana’s Angola prison
since accused and convicted (with little evidence) of killing a security guard in 1972. Sumell becomes close with Wallace and provoked by her passion for social justice and art, eventually asks and Wallace what kind of house he would live in, setting on a journey to implement his dreams.
Anyone expecting a biography of Wallace, or even much in the way of images of the unjustly kept man will be disappointed, for that is not this film. We only learn small tidbits about his case and history and we really never see him
That’s not to say he isn’t a driving force in the film — his voice, recorded from telephone conversations, is a steady and sure keel that not only keeps Sumell focused on her impossible mission to build Herman’s house in New Orleans (which is intended to be a community centre for youth), but keeps the whole film centred and focused as well.
Conceptually inventive, poetic and original, Herman’s House achieves a great feat in constructing a compelling narrative about a man we never meet and goals that aren’t quite reached. But looking closer at the film, as one is want to do with this slow-‐paced and extremely thoughtful doc, one realizes that the film isn’t just about Wallace, it’s about the relationship between him and Sumell and its about the profound sense of social justice and creativity that give meaning to and shape that relationship.
Sumell’s dedication to and at times seemingly obsessive approach to Wallace’s imaginative wishes is difficult to fully understand, but Bhalla’s film gently pulls us along, revealing just the right moments so that this complicated union unfolds much the way a house is first conceived in the mind, plans are drawn, the foundation poured, and the walls and roof built.
There are many houses being built here, and much like a Matryoshka doll, they fit inside eachother, beginning with the house in Wallace’s imagination, to the houses of Sumell, to the house that is the film, and to the houses that all of us imagine for ourselves and for those suffering injustice in the world. In the end, none can contain this unique and moving story, and we are left with our own imaginations, completely activated by this magnificent film.
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HOT DOC 2012
Herman’s House Directed by Angad Singh Bhalla Posted by Entertainment Maven | May 4
Herman’s House is about a Black Panther named Herman Wallace imprisioned in Angola, Louisiana for killing a jail guard, although there is no concrete evidence pointing to his guilt. But it’s also equally about Jackie Summel, the woman who wants to build his ideal house for him. We see separate segments of her rabbit hole from being an abused child to local beauty queen to pro-‐choice activist to her current self as an activist/artist/nieghbourhood mother/debtor who is spreading word about Wallace’s unjust imprisonment as well as about solitary confinement, a practice she deems as draconian and cruel yet accepted by people around her.
By the way, solitary confinement isn’t just a one-‐off thing where a man is sent to a black box for a few days – Wallace is in his cell for the duration of his term. Summel’s first art installation is a physical manifestation of her therapeutic idea to let him, verbally and through letters, imagine his ideal house and forget his present living quarters. It also has a piece made of wooden materials showing his cell and thus the inhuman practice of putting people in cells that small. The director, Anghad Singh Bhalla, also interviews prison architects – what, people specialize in that? – who agree that spaces like Angola inhabit are archaic.
A scene in the movie lets Summel meet one of those people who thinks that solitary is fine, just like there are other scenes where she talks to people in the South about Wallace and getting the land for his house. One woman tells her that unlike her New York way of thinking, the realtor speaks for other Southerners and that she doesn’t care about living next to an ex-‐convict and that she has guns in her house to protect herself. It’s a bittersweet comic relief in a gloomy-‐toned doc, unlike a scene when a man who knew Wallace and is now a contractor working with Summel. He tells the director that she’ll be perceived as a white woman who doesn’t belong near Angola and that she should leave the Panther struggle, a movement ambivalently received by the black people featured in the movie.
The doc weaves stories that seem too different and relates them to Wallace. One of the minor subjects is a white man imprisoned longer than he should have been, telling the camera that Wallace has given him back his compassion. His mother agrees, wondering how Wallace, changing her almost jaded son, can serve his society by being on the outside. Wallace confirms this positive word of mouth through recorded phone conversations between himself and Bhalla/Summel, an eloquent voice telling both of them to have a better outlook and to persevere. This audio is accompanied by animation of his early life and ideal house.
This movie shows that perseverance is an underrated virtue, as evinced by my initial and future reactions to it. At first I misunderstood Wallace and Summel’s struggle, that as Wallace admits, there are possibilities that both might be seen as taking advantage of each other, Wallace furthering his cause through her and she upping her profile as an artist through his struggle. It also seems like masochism on Summel’s part of putting herself in debt for a lost cause. But then I realized that it would have been bourgeois and callous of her to give up after her installation tour. This movie, therefore, shows activism in its purest form and should be seen in that respect.
THE HOUSE THAT HERMAN BUILT: What kind of house does a man who has lived in 6 ft x 9 ft box for 30 years dream of? Posted on May 4
For over thirty-‐eight years Herman Joshua Wallace has been in Solitary Confinement in Louisiana’s State Prison System. Solitary Confinement, or Closed Cell Restriction [CCR] at The Louisiana State Penitentiary consists of a minimum of 23 hours a day in a six-‐foot-‐by-‐nine-‐foot cell. As a member of the Black Panther Party, Herman Wallace has been isolated to the darkest places in the United State’s largest penitentiary. Specifically because of his political beliefs, he has been forced to endure the worst conditions of Solitary Confinement for nearly four decades. In 2003 artist Jackie Sumell asked Herman a very simple question: “WHAT KIND OF HOUSE DOES A MAN WHO HAS LIVED IN A 6′ X9′ BOX FOR OVER 30 YEARS DREAM OF?” The answer to this question has manifested a remarkable project principled in social sculpture, community outreach, benevolence and the ultimate power of
the imagination called THE HOUSE THAT HERMAN BUILT. This extraordinary collaboration has gained international recognition through its exhibition and corresponding book. This enormous project has been shown dozens of times in over 7 countries, garnishing accolades from the harshest critics. A documentary is being produced and directed by independent film maker Angad Bhalla. As Herman & Jackie transition from building a virtual home through an art exhibition to building Herman’s actual dream home in (his birth city) New Orleans, the growing community of support has increased infinitely. THTHB has formal alliances with various community groups, collectives, and committees. MAISON ORION, a Los Angeles based design studio, is providing architectural support for this project to see that it is realized with faithfulness to Herman’s vision with the absolute minimum of modifications. Once the land is acquired, construction can begin. The House That Herman Built is a testament to the human imagination, an illustration of kindness, an art project, and an introduction to history that highlights institutionalized racism in the United States. Ultimately, Herman’s House is a monument to resilience, courage, creativity and magnanimity. Herman Wallace & Jackie Sumell have committed their lives to building it. Please join us on this journey.
Art Imitates House By James Wegg | Posted May 5
Imagine living in a 6’x9’ space. Imagine living there alone. Imagine existing in such cramped quarters for forty years. Whoever got such a sentence must have done something terribly horrific.
Angad Bhalla chose the fascinating story of Herman Wallace (one third of the nefarious Angola 3 when the Black Power movement was a force to be reckoned with), who, just a few years in Louisiana’s Angola State Penitentiary (originally convicted of bank robbery), was confined
to solitary after being convicted of murdering a prison guard.
What drives the film is artist Jackie Sumell’s relationship with Wallace. Outraged when she learned of his decades in solitary, she sent him some photos of her life on the outside. Delighted to be thought of in such an unusual way, the pair soon connect and are now relatively inseparable (Wallace has yet another court date this spring). During her visits, there is a double screen between them, making Wallace appear to be just a dark outline of a man; most of their time together is spent on the telephone.
Knowing this, Bhalla has constructed a cinematic gem that artfully let’s viewers hear the perennial convict by captioning his voice in purposeful black-‐and-‐white, adding brilliant bits of animation (Wallace’s dream fading into the prison’s forest of grim reality is exceptionally well executed, kudos to Nicolas Brault’s inventive renderings, Iris Ng’s deft cinematography and Ricardo Acosta’s seamless editing) and the professional and personal colours that flow so readily from Sumell as she begins the process of building “Herman’s dream house.”
To reinforce the somewhat childlike tone (Herman’s house is first rendered for Sumell’s exhibit in dollhouse style; Wallace seems oddly content to return to solitary after an eight-‐month hiatus in the dormitory—the details of his “general prohibitive behaviours” are never revealed), composer Ken Myhr was tastefully woven a covey of innocent waltzes into the fabric at key moments (notably Sumell’s bike ride in New Orleans as she scouts for the perfect plot).
In the end, it seems that the notion of Herman’s house will remain the bond between the unlikely couple even as Sumell sports a Black Panther top and Wallace continues to offer her sage, fatherly advice from inside. There is no mood of scandalous injustice or unquenchable anger, rather a Nelson Mandela-‐like stoicism that patiently awaits a resolution satisfactory to all. JWR
Hot Docs 2012 in Brief, Part One: Canadian Spectrum & Next Posted on May 9
Though I had a shorter visit in Toronto for Hot Docs than I usually do, and had to balance covering the Forum with fulfilling my duties as a juror for the Canadian Spectrum, I managed to find enough time to watch quite a lot of films – enough to warrant at least three separate posts. Today’s will cover a selection of films from my competition section as well as a few from the music-‐ and art-‐focused Next section.
HERMAN’S HOUSE Angad Singh Bhalla’s look at the collaboration between a prisoner and an artist simultaneously forces viewers to contemplate the experience of solitary confinement and to relish the idea of freedom. Imprisoned in the notorious Angola prison for four decades, Black Panther Herman Wallace has spent much of that time alone in a six-‐by-‐nine-‐foot cell. Working with artist and activist Jackie Sumell, he describes his ideal house, and Jackie sets out to make it a reality in post-‐Katrina Louisiana. Featuring strong characters, Bhalla’s film powerfully addresses institutionalized racism in America’s judicial system and the power of art and imagination to transcend physical bonds. However, Herman only appears in the film via phone conversations. While this appropriately underscores his lack of freedom, this leaves Jackie to carry the balance of the film. Frankly she’s not as interesting as Herman, and the consequent focus on a white woman in what should really be the story of a black man unfortunately serves to undercut an otherwise solid project.
Hot Docs 2012 In Review By Priya Ramanujam | Posted on May 20
The Hot Docs Film Festival brought hundreds of documentary films to Toronto this year. Urbanology Magazine took time out to highlight two of the films that stood out to us the most, Marley and Herman’s House.
Herman’s House Director: Angad Singh Bhalla Executive Producer: Loring McAlpin, Ed Barreveld
After a week’s worth of packed and highly successful documentary screenings at the Hot Docs film festival, a packed audience gathered on a Sunday night to watch a final screening of Herman’s House, from Toronto-‐based director Angad Singh Bhalla. The film shares the story of a Black Panther member, Herman Wallace, who has been serving 40 years in Louisiana’s Angola prison in solitary confinement after being falsely convicted of murdering a prison guard. Dually, it shares the story of artist/activist Jackie Sumell who heard of Wallace at a 2001 conference and was inspired to write to him. She began work on an art exhibit, creating Herman’s house, asking the question: if you lived in solitary confinement for 40 years what would your dream house look like? The moving and inspirational documentary showcases the journey Sumell goes on as she builds a strong relationship with Wallace, meets his family, takes her exhibit to 12 different cities and embarks on the mission to create Herman’s dream house in real life to fulfill Wallace’s grand vision — as a youth centre in New Orleans. By only hearing Herman’s voice, and through vivid graphics and imagery both of prison architecture and a solitary confinement cell, we are given a taste of what Wallace experiences on a day to day. It has Wallace’s voice that narrates much of the story, which is told in part with Sumell, Wallace’s sister and a young man whom Wallace helped in prison. The film shares that while 80,000 people are held in solitary confinement currently in the United States, Wallace has spent the most time there of all. Following the film, Bhalla answered audience questions and shared how proud he was to be able to bring this film back to his city and share an often overlooked and unheard of story. The dialogue that ensued between filmmakers and audience members only further proved why creating films like this are vital to our society
Hot Docs title Herman’s House picked up by Kinosmith By Etan Vlessing | May 28
The latest local festival market action has seen Kinosmith acquire the Hot Docs title Herman’s House (pictured) by first-‐time director Angad Singh Bhalla. The documentary focuses on Herman Wallace, who has spent 40 years imprisoned in solitary confinement, and his artistic collaboration with New York artist Jackie Sumell.
Kinosmith’s Robin Smith purchased the Canadian theatrical rights to Herman’s House from Storyline Entertainment.
And indie distributor Syndicado acquired another documentary, Sagi Bornstein’s Kafka’s Last Story, which screened at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival.
Syndicado’s Greg Rubidge hammered out a deal for Kafka’s Last Story with Ruth Diskin Films, after its Canadian premiere in Toronto.
Hot Docs International Documentary Festival 2012
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