Opening this Friday, September 17 (in NYC): SWEETHEARTS OF THE PRISON RODEO
Bradley Beesley premiered his most recent feature documentary at last year’s SXSW (his earlier film, SUMMERCAMP!, is one of my first indieWIRE @ Hulu Docs picks). The film is being shown on a “Western Swing Tour,” hitting theatres for both one-off screenings and multiple day runs.
Focusing on female convicts at Oklahoma State Penitentiary participating in the US’ only prison-set rodeo, SWEETHEARTS profiles a number of women and the brief sense of mediated freedom participating in the event affords them. It’s a well-balanced character study, revealing the women behind the label of “prisoner,” while also providing the sheer visual spectacle of the antiquated prison rodeo, held at the OSP since 1940, but only allowing women to compete the year before the event featured in the film. Like Brian Hill’s SONGBIRDS, the lives of female convicts are allowed to go beyond stereotypes through a relatively unorthodox focus – for Hill’s film it’s music, and for Beesley’s it’s the rodeo, which allows the women to show off their athleticism, compete for prizes, and, for as long as they can stay on their horses, be the stars of the show.
what (not) to doc 