Teatro Penitenciario, Libertad Desde la Sombra (2012)

After 32 years of making and defining prison theatre in Mexico, Jorge Correa is ready to take the next step. While conducting workshops inside local prisons, Correa dreams of starting a theatre company outside the walls, where ex-cons would get the chance to express themselves and exorcise their demons, and as time goes by his dream becomes a reality. Articulating Correa's own personal journey as a witness to the 1968's Tlatelolco massacre with that of prisoners and ex-cons, the film switches back and forth from the vibrant streets of Mexico City to the dark jail cells, introducing us to the underground world of prison theatre. Named "father of the Mexican prison theater" by UNESCO, Correa's workshops allow inmates to break their physical chains, transcending the prison walls through artistic endeavors. The film invites us to enter this unknown world, to discover the life stories of nameless men and women serving time, as we witness the crystallization of Correa's life dream of starting a theatre company with free men who met in prison. As the ex-cons gather to rehearse a play by another ex-con (Oscar Wilde), we become privileged spectators to the sacred process of performing. Engaged in a creative activity, the now free men leave the dark tunnels of the past behind, and the hope of a better future creeps in, promising new beginnings, new opportunities, a brighter tomorrow.