No Way Home Premieres at the Free Library of Philadelphia
Last Friday, we premiered No Way Home in Philadelphia to a full auditorium of over 200 people at the Parkway Central Branch of the Free Library. This moving documentary about a mother’s struggle to reunite her family tells a story that’s quite urgent, as over 5,000 people in Pennsylvania are sentenced to die in prison due to a Life Without Parole sentence––the highest per capita rate in the United States. The audience was drawn in by the story of Lorraine Haw, known as Mrs. Dee Dee, whose struggle reflects the thousands of people in Pennsylvania who have lost loved ones to gun violence and also lost loved ones to the carceral system. No Way Home is, at once, a touching story about the enduring love of a family and a call to action to reverse the alarming rise of mass incarceration in Pennsylvania. It’s a plea for second chances for those who have turned their lives around.
After the screening, Amistad Law Project’s Organizing Director, Sean Damon, hosted a panel discussion with Mrs. Dee Dee; Executive Director of The Abolitionist Law Center, Robert Saleem Holbrook; and Amistad Law Project’s Executive Director, Kris Henderson. They offered incisive analyses that explain how our legal system has become more punitive in recent decades while simultaneously shutting down avenues for transformed lifers to return home. It was energizing to hear them in dialogue with a diverse and lively audience that reflected all the communities that make Philadelphia so special.
At the end of the night, the crowd burst into a round of applause for all the people in the room who have come home, leaving us with a sense of hope that our loved ones on the inside will be out here with us one day
We look forward to screening this film in communities across PA throughout the summer. We will be hosting additional community screenings in Philly and announcing screenings in Scranton, Pittsburgh, Lancaster, and the Lehigh Valley in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, we hope you’ll join us at our upcoming screening at Theatre Horizon in Norristown on Friday, July 14th!
Norristown, PA - Friday July 14th 6:30 PM at Theatre Horizon
(401 DeKalb St Norristown, PA)
Co-sponsored by Straight Ahead REGISTER HERE TO ATTEND
