Int: Jessica Sanders

A living nightmare – is the only way to describe After Innocence. It is unimaginable that the seven stories in this documentary are true. Imagine walking down the street and a stranger runs up to you, retains you, and says, “See that woman right there,” he points across the street, “she just called the cops on you saying that you raped her.” “I don’t even know her,” you respond and then continue with something like this, “You know what, I’m going to stay here, so when the cops come I can tell them I wasn’t involved.” When the cops arrive, they arrest you, and you are given a 12-24 year prison sentence for a crime you never committed. That is what happened to Vincent Moto of Pennsylvania who spent 10.5 years in jail until he was finally released based on new DNA testing done by the Innocence Project and he was found not-guilty. What is worse than all of this is that in Pennsylvania, there is no compensation for those who are wrongfully convicted. So now imagine that after you somehow kept your hopes up behind bars for 10.5 years, and you are finally released back into society, you are unable to find work because your “criminal” record hasn’t been expunged and there is no way to get any monetary compensation from all this nonsense. Even guilty people get some kind of social assistance. It’s absurd to think that guilty people are treated better than innocent.

After Innocence is a film that follows the diverse stories of seven incarcerated victims of the criminal justice system whose stories are emotional and deeply dramatic. They were all tried, convicted and sent to prison for crimes that they never committed. The DNA evidence from each crime is what finally proves their innocence, but why wasn’t this evidence more closely examined during the trial. These men had to sacrifice a part of their lives, they had to waste time behind bars, time that they will never get back, in order for the criminal justice system to realize, through this documentary, one of it’s greatest flaws. “Mistaken identity” is one a leading causes of wrongful imprisonment, according to the Innocence Project, the organization highlighted in this film. They receive hundreds of letters and take on the particular cases where the DNA evidence was neglected. They have freed over 160 innocent people from prison. Their mission and how they operate is also a part of this documentary. Most dramatic is the long and emotional journey of one man from his time in prison, the resistance of the prosecution to allow new testing of the DNA to be entered into a court hearing, and then finally his release into the arms of his parents who quietly cry and embrace their son. You can check out the stories of those highlighted in this film via the website, but nothing compares to the way they talk about their experiences and their new found freedom. One exoneree describes it by saying, “Not even Shakespeare could find the words to explain how I feel right now.” These are real stories of unquestionable injustice.

Jessica Sanders is a socially motivated documentary and narrative filmmaker. Her credits included producing the feature documentary, Sing!, and being an Associate Producer of Twin Towers and the documentary series Crime and Punishment. She also wrote, produced and directed the short film Los Angels. I sat down with her at the office of the Innocent Project in New York for an interview.

(L) Director: Jessica Sanders (R) Producer: Marc H. Simon

Justin Ambrosino: How did you choose these particular men to be the voices of the exonerated?

Jessica Sanders: The film features seven exonerated men, in various stages of their release and one person in prison following his fight for freedom. At that time of there were 127, now there is 162. So we had a set number of cases to work with and I wanted a diverse group of people from different parts of the country, different races, different reasons for being convicted, how long they were in prison and how they are doing now. So I choose people based on all of these factors. We definitely worked with the Innocence Project with some kind criteria, some idea of who we were looking for, and they had an idea of who would be more articulate than others. In documentaries you have to cast your film just like you cast a dramatic film. There are people who are better for film than others. The casting and research took six to eight months and was an ongoing process. I also met half the people I profiled at the 10th anniversary of the Innocence Project, which was the opening sequence in the film.

JA: Did you ever work with the Innocence Project before this documentary?

JS: No, but my producing partner Marc Simon had been a student at the Innocence Project, so he had the relationship that was really important. They trusted him and they trusted me, so with their blessing, we had the necessary access.

JA: As a documentary filmmaker, why choose a project like this?

JS: I knew I wanted to make this film when I found out about the stories of the exonerees and how dramatic their stories were. How do you survive decades in prison, what keeps you going, there definitely had to be an amazing story there. I was shocked to learn that they were thrown out onto the streets and given nothing. It was story I didn’t know about and the public doesn’t know about and I also thought that it would be a film where we could show this injustice and really make a difference.

JA: How did you schedule something like this?

JS: For documentaries a lot is dependent on funding. We got through most of the shooting process with grants and donations. The film depended on a lot of what was going on in their lives now. When we knew something special was happening like a compensation hearing, or someone’s first birthday home, we sort of scheduled around those events so we could film these wonderful scenes. The man who was in prison in Florida, we knew when his attorney would be calling and when he’d get out. So we kept in close communication with everyone.

JA: Did you ever go out shooting when funding wasn’t available?

JS: Yes. With documentaries you can’t wait for the money. If something is happening and you don’t film it you miss out on it. The very first shot of the film, at the Anniversary, there wasn’t any money, but it was an important moment, so I just jumped on the plane. I had friends who deferred their pay which is pretty common in documentaries. People get involved based on the subject matter.

JA: Did you have a script written for this?

JS: Certainty I knew who I wanted and why. You have ideas of why you want to follow certain people, like I knew I wanted someone in prison, but I didn’t know who that was going to be. I lucked out that it was Wilton, who had such a dramatic resistance from the prosecution that, in thinking in terms of storytelling, I lucked out on. Even though what he went through is terrible, I think in showing the public what is happening, it is an amazing story to follow.

JA: How did you get access to filming in prison, was there any red tape you had to go through?

JS: I had experience with the NBC series Crime and Punishment, that shot in California prisons. It really depends on the state. We would write to the Florida prison and say it’s an educational documentary and explain what we want to do. I think if you explain who you are and what you are doing, they should understand. People are allowed freedom of speech.

JA: How long was production and post production?

JS: We shot for about 38 days or maybe a little more. We had about 140 hours of footage. We edited for four and half months, then we had another month of post work. It was very stressful time. Luckily, we had an amazing editor, Brian Johnson, who edited the Buena Vista Social Club. He was really dedicated because we were cutting for the Sundance deadline.

JA: How do you break down that much footage?

JS: I looked at every inch of footage shot and I understood why I shot things. We had this huge wall of scenes that we mapped out. Four and half months might not seem like along time but for a feature length documentary it is. It made us really go through and see what scenes were essential, finding the most important part of each scene and every character and ultimately every sequence.

JA: How do the guys feel about the premiere?

JS: It is so exciting because when we all went into this we had hoped to have the widest possible audience. We all feel like we are apart of something exciting. All the guys became friends, they are like a posse. They all call each other and support each other. It’s a really great network that we created.

JA: What do you have next?

JS: I’m kind of figuring out what my next documentary project is going to be, but I just finished two short films, Stormy Weather and Pool King, and I am now writing a feature length dramatic script. It’s about a notorious San Diego graffiti artist that is based on someone that I know.

New Yorker Films’ After Innocence opened October 21st in New York and will be “set free” in select markets in the coming weeks and months.