91短视频

In a new approach to promoting peaceful communities, graduate students at 91短视频 are leading conversation around an award-winning documentary about people who collaborated to paint massive murals in Philadelphia.

A unique twist to the documentary, Concrete, Steel and Paint, is that the painters include men incarcerated in a maximum-security prison as well as crime victims.

The filmmakers, Cindy Burstein and Tony Heriza, consulted with , distinguished professor of at , as they prepared to distribute the film. It covers the journey of these artists toward profound insights on the nature of crime 鈥� and reconciliation 鈥� during their collaboration, and explores how the criminal justice system affects everyone involved in the project.

After its 2009 release, Concrete, Steel and Paint found a wide audience within restorative justice circles. In 2012, Burstein and Heriza began working with CJP to use the film as a starting point for dialogue about using restorative practices to effect change on the wider social level that their film explores.

鈥淓mbedding our restorative justice work in peacebuilding is one of our unique niches,鈥� said CJP professor , co-director of .

While is often conceptualized on the personal level between individual victims and offenders, Stauffer said that CJP is equally interested in broader use of restorative practices to address violence caused by large structures like the criminal justice system.

Sarah Roth Shank and Jonathan Swartz, both , and two other classmates have led dialogues at several events where the film was shown, including the 2013 National Conference on Restorative Justice in Toledo, Ohio. Future students will have opportunity to continue leading similar dialogues around the film, both for practical facilitation experience and to explore the use of restorative practices to confront systemic injustice, Stauffer said.

The filmmakers鈥� enthusiasm for these dialogues began after they worked with Zehr to lead one at the Concrete, Steel and Paint premiere in Philadelphia. After seeing hundreds of strangers erupt into conversation with one another after the screening, they were inspired to continue exploring how their film could continue to spark conversation among and between crime victims, criminal justice reform advocates and other stakeholders, as well as motivate them into action.

CJP has incorporated the role of media and social change through dialogue into its curriculum. At its annual in 2014, two courses co-taught by 91短视频 professors and graduates of CJP will relate directly to these themes.

• 聽鈥淢edia for Societal Transformation,鈥� co-led by a veteran filmmaker on faculty, , and Danielle Taylor, MA 鈥�13, will be held during SPI鈥檚 first session, May 5-13, 2014.
• 鈥淭he Impact of Social Issues of Restorative Justice鈥� will be co-led by Stauffer and Jacqueline Roebuck Sakho, MA 鈥�09, during the second SPI session, May 15-23, 2014. (Read more about Sakho鈥檚 restorative justice work .)

In 2015, SPI will hold an intensive, three-week media camp for more advanced training in using film and social media for .

鈥淒eveloping media and advocacy skills is important, because we know that documenting structural problems is key to changing the system,鈥� said , CJP program director.

Stauffer said that CJP encourages people to think systemically, asking the key question, 鈥淲hat would it be like to make a whole system more aligned to restorative values and process?鈥�

More information on these and other courses at SPI can be found on its .