UnLonely Film Festival 5
Huntsville Station
Every weekday inmates are released from Huntsville State Penitentiary, taking in their first moments of freedom.
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Consider This
Watch this video to explore the film’s meaning and major themes a bit more. Talking with others about a shared arts experience can enrich our perspectives. Share your thoughts in the comment section, below!
Meet the Filmmakers
What is their why?
“With Huntsville Station, our goal was to create an experience that reflected a different side of the criminal justice system. We did not conduct interviews, hoping to craft an immersive sense of this moment of being released for parolees, observing their conversations and even just capturing the simple act of waiting in this pivotal time between prison and freedom. For those within prison, it is near-impossible to outwardly express emotion in front of other inmates for fear of appearing weak. So, we sought to humanize those on-screen by just having the camera be present with them for their first release of emotion before reconnecting with the outside world.”
Chris Filippone is a documentary filmmaker whose works explore physical labor, marginalized perspectives, and liminal spaces through aesthetically immersive approaches. He is a graduate of Stanford University’s M.F.A. Documentary Film program and has taught at the San Francisco Art Institute and Santa Clara University.
Jamie Meltze’s feature documentary films have been broadcast nationally on PBS and have screened at numerous film festivals worldwide. He teaches and is the Program Director of the M.F.A. Program in Documentary Film at Stanford University.
Can you remember a time when you felt overwhelmed by change? Can you think of someone you know whose life has been transformed who might be in a transition phase themselves right now and may need a word of encouragement?
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Explore More
Sundown
An elderly man gets a visit from his childhood best friend, who appears to him as a teenager. 10:36 mins.
In Full Bloom
The surreal manifestation of a black hole within a woman’s home impels an agoraphobic widow to make a difficult choice. 10:39 minutes.
Everything’s Fine: A Panic Attack In D Major
A musical comedy about a young woman at the onset of her “quarter life crisis,” following her existential journey though the various stages of anxiety in song.
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I would volunteer just to hang out and talk with these guys. Incarceration is a horrendous burden and moral support is universally appreciated if empathy can be channeled and accepted.
You can say a lot in just a few frames. This is a powerful moment of transition and it can go in many directions.