"In the US, long-term solitary confinement is still widely practised, with an estimated 122,000 people isolated in small prison cells for 22 to 24 hours a day. This persists despite movements across much of the world to minimise or end its use on humanitarian grounds."
"Directed by the Irish filmmaker Nathan Fagan, the short documentary uses evocative animation to explore each individual's experience. While their stories are distinct, overlapping themes of loneliness, agony and elaborate mental escapes run throughout. Beyond making a forceful case against the use of solitary confinement, the film highlights how vital both stimulation and social connection are to the human experience, and the dramatic ways the mind can react when it's deprived of them."
Long-term solitary confinement in the US isolates an estimated 122,000 people in small cells for 22–24 hours daily, despite global moves to reduce or end the practice on humanitarian grounds. Inside, the Valley Sings profiles three former prisoners turned activists: a man who first entered solitary at 16, a woman whose conviction was later overturned, and a man who spent over 22 years in isolation. Director Nathan Fagan uses evocative animation to portray overlapping themes of loneliness, agony, and elaborate mental escapes. The film makes a forceful case against solitary, highlighting the necessity of stimulation and social connection and how the mind can dramatically react to deprivation.
Read at Aeon
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]