Films inside

HMYOI Brinsford – Tuesday 15th November: 2016: 11.15am
An alarm bell has just sounded. Every radio in the prison has echoed the call – including the one I am wearing. Fourteen heads turn in my direction and I recognise the look of intrigue and excitement in every expression.
‘It’s a fight.’ Someone says and three teenagers thump the desk with their fists in delight. The rest of the group roll their eyes or fake a yawn and return to browsing their books.
‘Alarm bell upper corridor Education’ is repeated at speaker rattling volume for several seconds as I struggle to turn the radio down.
Outside the library door we hear the thundering of a multitude of feet.
‘Did you find that book on Astrology boss?’i>
I finally turn the radio down, pleased to see that the effects of the alarm have subsided, everyone is back to reading.
‘Yes I did.’ I say with a smile, handing over the book to the baby-faced prisoner in front of me who seizes it like the Holy Grail.

Welcome to Brinsford Prison Library. It’s a large space, crammed floor to ceiling with a good range of books. There are only fourteen prisoners in the room with us, but the place seems full. Newspapers are being eagerly read, driving theory questions are being tackled on the computers and shelves are being rifled for that elusive book that will make time go faster. There’s a general murmur of conversation punctuated with healthy doses of banter but there is always something bubbling just below the surface, and anyone who has worked in prisons will know, you can never take your eye off the stove for too long.

Library engagement
I first stepped through these gates twelve years ago, expecting to stay for a few years and help as many prisoners as I could to engage with reading and writing. Although I had no prison library experience I am an author with a passion for reading that has been nurtured inside me since childhood. I know from personal experience that books can change lives and I wanted to be one of the many people helping prisoners to make a change in their lives. Let’s face it, we can all take a wrong turning, and when we do, we need signposting back on the right road. For me, that’s where the library works its magic. My few years turned into 12 (and counting) and the job I thought would be a fairly under-the-radar experience has seen me appearing on C4’s ‘The Secret Millionaire’ being interviewed several times by BBC Radio 4, being interviewed by The Financial Times and The Bookseller. Speaking at conferences across the UK and raising my head above the parapet during the notorious ‘Book Ban’ in UK prisons and writing a blog with publisher Scott Pack to draw attention to the overwhelmingly positive effects of books upon prisoners. The website ­received so many ‘hits’ the day the blog was published that it crashed. You would think that these moments alone would have prepared me for the phone call I received just minutes later on that Tuesday morning in November. But looking back now, I’m not sure anything could have.

Roll out the red carpet
I remember closing the office door to deaden the noise of the group outside, and being surprised to find myself talking to Gerard Lemos whom I had met on several occasions at Lemos & Crane conferences. Gerard Lemos leads the research team at Lemos & Crane, which is just one string of his varied and talented bow that includes writing and lecturing as well as chairing the boards of several prestigious organisations. Gerard also happens to be one of the nicest people I have ever met, self-depreciating, humorous and generous. A man who believes in making the impossible happen. At the time of our conversation he was Vice-President of The British Board of Film Classification and he had telephoned to run a unique idea past me. ‘Was there any scope for establishing a film club inside a prison library?’ I am of course para-phrasing a very lengthy conversation, but in essence this was the request and after I put the phone down my brain went in to a tail spin as I realised I had just agreed (arguably not just agreed, as a life-long movie fan I’d agreed wholeheartedly that I could make this happen) without really thinking through all the implications of the project. How would we screen the films? Who would grant us permission? Which prisoners would take part and how would they be chosen? etc… By the time I was driving home I was almost ready to telephone Gerard back and call a halt to the whole idea. But I’d been in situations like this before. In 2014 I was asked by the National Literacy Trust and The Booker Foundation if it would be possible to encourage a group of Young Offenders to read a Man Booker title. At the time of that request my next thought (after first agreeing to give it a go) was to ring back and say no chance at all! That project has grown to be a major feather in the cap of our prison library service and I helped to create the community model of that project which is now being rolled out across UK prisons. It was just possible that this project could roll a red carpet across Staffordshire in the same way. And so the planning began. Like any project in prisons, once you’ve had the initial idea you need to realistically accept that the actual project could take anything up to a year (or more, I’m being kind) to come to fruition. In part this is essential as any project needs extensive planning, but when you work in an environment filled not only with closed doors, but closed doors with very hefty locks in place, you need extra time to ensure you’ve thought of everything.

Community keystone
‘Films Inside’ began with a visit to HMP Oakwood by BBFC Chief Executive David Austin and Lucy Brett, Head of Education for the BBFC. Here we met with HMP Oakwood’s senior management team to glean their initial thoughts about the feasibility of running the project in the prison library. In a private conversation between Gerard, Lucy, David and myself prior to this meeting we had already refined the project to a workable proposition, and this was what we were now ­pitching to three prisons in Staffordshire (HMYOI Brinsford and HMP Featherstone being the other two.) Five films would be chosen, spanning several genres and decades with the linking theme of fatherhood. One of the films would be an animated short film chosen by Mark Reid , Head of UK Learning programmes for the BFI. Permissions would be sought by the BBFC and BFI for the films to be screened in prisons. The prison library would provide the means of screening the film (television & DVD player) and work closely with the prison to select the prisoners who would take part (in some cases, though not exclusively, the prisoners selected would be fathers themselves). Security issues would need to be assessed and stringent checks carried out. A group of between 10 and 15 prisoners would be chosen to watch the films and the library would provide supporting literature for further reading. I volunteered to be the link between all of the groups by attending discussions based around the issues arising from the films. The BBFC, BFI and Picturehouse Cinemas (our fourth partner on the project) represented by Leah Byrne, Picturehouse’s Audience Development Manager, would provide materials to aid discussion and provide further information about the films. The value of such a debate was incredibly high. Most prisoners who would be involved in the project would have never discussed issues like this in front of their peers before and it represented a chance for prisoners to learn an incredible range of skills under the guise of watching a film. To add a further element to the project I suggested we also screen the films in a public library, so that the thoughts, ­reviews and opinions of the prisoners could be shared (anonymously) with their local community, and visa versa. This community aspect proved to be the keystone of the project as many of the prisoners who were approached were genuinely moved by the idea that their opinion was of value beyond the prison walls. All three prisons agreed to having the project take place and I quickly ­approached my colleagues in ­public ­libraries, ­including Stock Services ­Development Manager Scott Whitehouse who had a proven track record of reader development projects to his name.

Enter Dexter Fletcher and Oscar winner Michaël Dudok de Wit
Whilst I spent the following months helping to organise the equipment, groups and screening timetable for the films, the BBFC and BFI began to clear permissions for the films to be screened. These would include the original Father of the Bride, To Kill a Mockingbird, Creed, Wild Bill and Father and Daughter. In the case of the latter two films their respective directors granted personal permission for the films to be screened. Dexter Fletcher recorded a podcast to be played to prisoners at the screenings and Oscar-winning director Michaël Dudok de Wit took the time to personally visit one of the prison film groups and the public library group, to discuss his work and the impact of the project. Over the course of three months in the summer of 2017, Films Inside ran in tandem across the three prisons and in the local community to an overwhelming positive response from staff, ­prisoners and members of the public. Unfortunately there was a delay of several months due to ill health before the process of drawing together all the evidence to form the final report could begin. This included going through transcripts of oral and written responses to each film and in-depth discussions of the issues arising. Since its publication in May 2019 the response to ‘Films Inside’ has been resoundingly positive and plans are already in place for a second and third phase of the pilot in Staffordshire ­potentially involving seven prison groups, the local community, directors and screenwriters. The eventual hope is the project could be taken into prisons and communities across the UK. A long journey from that initial ­telephone call one cold November morning, but one I am so proud to have been asked to be part of.

The full report of ‘Films Inside’ has been published by Lemos & Crane