Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, March 6: THE MIND OF MARK DEFRIEST
Gabriel London’s exploration of the history of a notorious prison escape artist debuted at Hot Docs last year. It went on to screen at DOC NYC, Los Angeles, Tallgrass, Denver, and Lone Star, among others. The film has already led to surprising developments in DeFriest’s case.
I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
In 1979, teenager Mark DeFriest received a four-year prison sentence for stealing his own tools. After countless outrageous jailbreak attempts – many humorously recounted here through animated sequences – he’s still incarcerated and will be until 2084. Shortly after his confinement began, Mark’s mental competency was questioned, but the opinion of Dr Robert Berland, a single dissenting psychiatrist, kept him behind bars. Now, agreeing to re-examine the oddly amiable but troubled Houdini, Dr Berland may provide the means to finally secure Mark’s freedom.
what (not) to doc 