About the Event
HTX MADE presents
In Partnership with Rice Cinema
The Strike
Directed by JoeBill Muñoz and Lucas Guilkey
(US, 2024, 86 min. )
Friday, February 28, 7:00pm
Watch the film trailer
Panel discussion to follow with: JoeBill Muñoz, Co-Director and Houston Native; Michael Saavedra, Protagonist and CA Prisoner Hunger Strike Organizer; Dr. Brielle Bryan, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Rice University; Krish Gundu, Executive Director of Texas Jail Project and Organizer with Communities Not Cages - HTown; and moderated by HTX MADE curator Li Lu.
Amidst the redwood trees on the California-Oregon border sits one of the most infamous prisons in US history. Pelican Bay is a labyrinthine construction of solid cement blocks – a supermax prison – opened in 1989 and designed specifically for mass-scale solitary confinement. For decades, it held men alone in tiny cells indefinitely. Then one day in 2013, 30,000 prisoners went on hunger strike.
THE STRIKE weaves together, thread-by-thread, a half century of personal and criminal justice history into a single, compelling narrative around the drama of the 2013 hunger strike to end indefinite isolation. Grounded in testimonies from the hunger strikers themselves, the film details how the protest was conceived from a whisper inside the halls of Pelican Bay to a colossal feat across California prisons. With unprecedented access to state prison officials and never-before-seen footage from inside Pelican Bay, THE STRIKE reveals the panic that gripped the highest echelons of state government.
Part of HTX MADE, Vol 1. The HTX MADE screening series celebrates visionary filmmakers from Greater Houston by hosting a homecoming screening of their work. Through showcasing an array of esteemed, independent, and BIPOC filmmakers from Houston, our events serve as a gathering point for community-led dialogues that expand each film’s themes onto our beloved city. Through a horizontal, filmmaker to filmmaker mode of curatorship, this series provides an opportunity for community and artistic exchange - elements crucial to our city’s dynamic cultural landscape. Curator: Li Lu. Program Coordinator: Marc Armeña.
To listen to the Houston Public Media Interview with Li Lu and Marc Armeña: New screening series highlights films that are ‘HTX MADE’
Free and open to the public.
Discounted parking available in Founder’s Court lot, $6 flat fee, credit card required.
