Ariella: Hi! It’s so great to be here, and part of Good Pitch Vancouver Virtual. I’m Ariella, and with me is Nance – and we’re two of the three co-directors of the film Conviction.

The film and our Impact Campaign have both been created collaboratively. We collaborated with each other, along with our producer and co-director Teresa MacInnes. We collaborated with women at two prisons and we’ve collaborated with the NFB, the Documentary Channel, The Canadian Media Fund and many other partners, including the amazing people at Good Pitch.

And creating this film has made us realize that we, as a society, are all collaborators complicit in keeping these women incarcerated. Our taxes pay at least $100,000 a year to house each woman in provincial prison, and about $250,000 a year for Federal.

We’d love for you to meet the women who are most affected by these decisions.

Nance: Statistically speaking, out of ten women, like those we met in prison, nine have experienced childhood physical and sexual abuse – trauma that leads to addiction and mental health issues. Eight are mothers whose children have been taken away. And at least four are Indigenous.

Many self-harm, several will attempt suicide, and one will die behind bars. Almost all of them experience poverty.

These are the women who represent the fastest growing prison population worldwide.

But we learned that they are also women who are incredibly creative and insightful about why they keep ending up in prison and what we can do, as a society, to prevent it.

Ariella: Our collaboration started with this question: What would you have needed in society to not have ended up in prison?

Nance: Their answers were loud and clear. They need a supportive society, not punishment.

Ariella: Prison doesn’t work. It doesn’t work as a detox or rehab centre, not as a mental health facility and not as a corrective institution. It doesn’t even work as a deterrent. This is what we’ve learned through making this film and meeting these women.

And fifteen years ago the heads of Corrections in Canada stated that if 90% of the women in prison were released, there would be no increased risk to public safety.

Ariella: So this is actually not a broken prison film. It’s a broken society film.

Our long term goal has always been to shift the public consciousness away from a punitive approach to a more supportive approach.

And we believe Conviction is a catalyst for that change.

Nance: Through the over 60 community and film festival screenings, the Documentary Channel, SRC, and CBC GEM, we’ve engaged tens of thousands of viewers. The film garnered extensive press coverage since its release – most recently an in-depth feature article in the Walrus last month, and an upcoming feature in the Journal of the Canadian Criminal Justice Association.

Because of the support we received at the inaugural Good Pitch Vancouver we were able to participate in panel discussions and Q&As, with the women in the film and others with lived experience right there with us. We also developed specific impact initiatives to maximize audience engagement. In other words, we tapped into people’s desire to do something, and then gave them the tools to make it happen.

Ariella: Specifically, we conducted 758 audience surveys, and learned that 98% of people who completed surveys are moved to take action. We’ve responded with letter writing campaign information, support to those who want to host a screening/discussion, sharing our website and impact materials, and connecting audience members to their local Elizabeth Fry Societies.

We’ve also:

• Supported two local Elizabeth Fry organizations in their campaigns to donate backpacks with supplies to women leaving prison;

• Organized art exhibitions;

• Created impact postcards featuring artwork created by the women in the film.

• We’ve reached out to approximately 3,000 university and college professors who may want to incorporate the film into their curriculum;

• And we’ve paid Conviction’s participants, and other women with lived experience, to participate in screenings, outreach and other impact activities.

• We’ve reached out to community organizations and educators in the US, and interest in online screenings and discussions continues as we speak – with an upcoming Reel Causes screening next week and a panel discussion on October 22nd.

Nance: But we feel there is so much more to be done. We need more targeted engagement.

As well continuing to support the women’s involvement in all our impact work, we’re asking for financial and in-kind support to:

• Create a study guide/toolkit with questions and resources targeted to specific audiences – high school youth, post-secondary students, and community audiences, to include as a download package on our website.

• We also want to continue to use Conviction to support a few of Senator Kim Pate’s specific initiatives that we believe are crucial to human rights and equality, including decarceration – preventing people from entering prison in the first place.

By promoting support for Kim’s work on economic equality policies such as the implementation of guaranteed liveable income in Canada, we can make a difference in the movement to alleviate the extreme poverty that contributes to criminalization.

Ariella: And for those of you who’ve seen the film, you’ll remember the women’s idea of creating From the Ground Up – the supportive housing community that they envisioned. The group has recently formed a board of directors and is now a registered non-profit organization, and the architects in the film are still keen to be involved.

But the group needs support in planning next steps, and would like to hire a fundraiser to work with them to design and implement a Kickstarter campaign. But I’ll let Bianca and Tanya – From the Ground Up board co-chairs – fill you in on that.

We are so grateful to all of you for helping us to create more impact with our film and for supporting the women in Conviction. Thank you!

WHO ATTENDED?

Aaron Greaves - Offender Case Manager, Helping Offenders on Probation Excel (HOPE)

Pledged to forward the film to folks at his program at Sheridan College to be shared with students who are mostly in training to work in corrections.

Adam Vaughan - Member of Parliament Spadina-Fort-York, Parliament

Screening for women's caucus, sit down with the minister to help make film available to incarcerated folks.

Aisha Francis - Executive Director, Families Impacted By Incarceration

Organize another meeting for other attendees to network and figure out how they can work together.

Alicia Mora - Founder, Queen's Correctional Services Volunteers

Showcase the film to Queen’s University students, staff, Kingston community members, host debrief afterwards to promote knowledge of QCSV and recruit volunteers and get students and professors on board.

David Paperny - Founder, Paperny Entertainment

Donated $1,000 to From The Ground Up and offered to help Eddy Martinez with reality show.

Eddy Martinez - HOPE Program Coordinator, HOPE program at Yonge Street Mission

Pledged to promote on social media and is interested in meeting Aisha proposed between attending organizations.

WHAT PLEDGES WERE PREVIOUSLY MADE AT OUR LIVE EVENT?

Women’s Shelters Canada, Joanne Baker

"Violence against women and female incarceration are deeply connected.“ Pledged to disseminate the film through their network of women’s shelters.

Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, Diana Majury

"Conviction is a moving tool for public education that makes us care. We want to use it to galvanize social change.“ Will explore integrating the film as key component of public education using large network of NGO's, foundations, and communities groups. Offered to help distribute post-release Transition Survival Kits.

Collaborating Centre for Prison Health and Education, Dr. Ruth Elwood Martin, MD, FCFP, MPH

Offered to collaborate and introductions to international network, and to share their research and policy with partners.

National Council of Women of Canada, Barbara Hall

Pledged to continue to lobby government at the federal and provincial levels for corrections reform, and a film screening at their Annual General Meeting.

LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics

Pledged $15,000 to support community partners that want to work with film, work with filmmakers to identify these partners, and donate hygiene products for backpacks.

One fundraiser, Elaine Hanson

Raised $7000 privately and pledged to embed the film and its content into Canadian private school’s mandatory co-curricular program, hold planning days of action, institute letter writing campaigns to politicians, and hold backpack fundraisers.

Orange is the New Black, Dianne Guerrero

"I would love to help spread the word" through social media platforms. "Women in the criminal justice system need nurturance and support."

CBC Docs / Documentary Channel

"Conviction is an involving, deep access experience.” Pledged to air film, help find best broadcast date and identify festival and other theatrical screening opportunities. Will leverage social outreach and publicity resources.

Urban Rez Solutions, Rod Brereton

Offered to hold conversations around prevention in communities where the film is airing and in communities where issues are prevalent.

Simon Fraser University’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement

Offered venue for screening and panel discussion.

FASTSIGNS Vancouver

$300 toward screening or event signs.

Four individual pledges

• 50 drawstring or 20 full shoulder backpacks

• Donation of $400 towards Transition Survival Kits

• Donation of $500 towards Transition Survival Kits

• Two guests rooms in Vancouver, lodging for life

West Coast LEAF

Pledged promotional support and access to funding streams.

TEAM

Sue Biely
Anthony Swan
Jonny Morris
Brianna Girdler
Jenny Lee Craig
Anastasia Gaisenok
Natasha Shukor
Em Lubbers
Anis Annisa Maryam

WITH GREAT APPRECIATION

Good Pitch Vancouver Virtual
Program Donors
David Paperny
Audrey Mehler

Story Money Impact Donors
Leonard Schein
Laura Plant
Erika Harrison
Tracey Friesen
Dr Hilary Pada
Annette Frymer
David Goorevitch
Wayne Busse
David Zitzerman
David Richardson
Leola Purdy Foundation
Sandra Garossino
Tinu Mathur
Mark Busse
Ruth Hahn
Ring Five Impact Docs
Tatiana Nemchin