Abolition Film Society

(Cette note n'est disponible qu'en anglais.*)

This note was created as part of interConnect, a collaborative inquiry into digital transformation. Learn more in the box at the end of the text.

Abolition Film Society was a curation project by Kriss Li for The Breadth Of, a public symposium that investigated and responded to the living archive of the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre (CFMDC). The project was a collaboration with Prisoner Correspondence Project (PCP), a Montreal-based volunteer-run solidarity initiative that supports over 4000 LGBTQ prisoners in Canada and the US through a free penpal program, resource library, and newsletter.

Short works from the CFMDC archive were chosen for five incarcerated PCP members based on their interests, then distributed within the limitations of the prison system: stills sent by mail, audio played on the phone, and low quality video clips transmitted via a for-profit online communication platform. Each incarcerated participant wrote a response for the artist who made their film. 

The incarcerated participants were paid $300 CAD for their work—either directly or, for those prohibited by the prison from receiving payment, as book orders and donations made to organizations of their choice.

The process of distributing these films lasted six months and faced endless roadblocks, including but not limited to: messages rejected for mentioning forbidden subjects; packages returned due to arbitrary page limits; a participant being transferred without warning and placed into isolation; the nightmare process of being added to people’s phone lists using a dysfunctional private subcontracted service; the Department of Corrections confiscating 45% of all payment an inmate receives; book orders rejected for content, etc.

Li had to employ creative ways of getting around each hurdle that emerged, including relaying materials through prisoners’ family and comrades, sending packages using official-looking organizational letterhead, and purchasing items from online bookstores and prison commissaries when prisoners couldn’t directly receive payment.

The project was presented online through a virtual screening of the CFMDC film program and an hour-long public presentation describing the process behind the project, correspondence excerpts, the obstacles Li faced sending items into prison, and strategies Li employed for circumventing regulations. 

Abolition Film Society shared experimental films with people who wouldn’t otherwise have access to them, and employed older technologies to reach people who could not use the open internet. The piece also acted as a creative pedagogical tool to introduce the audience to the realities of corresponding with prisoners and tips for getting messages inside.

About this note   

• This note was nurtured by the discussions that took place during interConnect  workshops, particularly those of co-learning group 1.2.   
• Note authored by Kriss Li with revision support from Christina Battle and the interConnect team.

The interConnect initiative was led by the Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA). The views expressed in this note are those of the author(s) and not official IMAA recommendations.

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*interConnect était une initiative bilingue. Cependant, en raison de la quantité de contenu créé au cours du projet, et compte tenu des contraintes budgétaires et de la capacité de l'équipe, toutes les notes n'ont pas été traduites.