To their critics, they're monsters. You have to love it out of them, Cowan says. By what name was They Call Us Monsters (2016) officially released in Canada in English? We are committed to transparency in every aspect of funding our organization. I definitely believe teens that see unforeseen trauma in there childhood should certainly be given a serious second chance, their brains are not fully developed. Help bring programs like Independent Lens to your PBS station. SB 260 may have finally passed in California, as well as Prop 57, but most states still impose juvenile life sentences with no chance of parole. Love does not conquer all nor is Lear suggesting this. The entire area of the brain that pertains to culpability and consequence and long-term thinking and impulsivity everything that comes together in the commission of a crime is not developed, the films director, Ben Lear, told JJIE. Juan Gamez, Antonio Hernandez and Jarad Nava are the youthful offenders at the heart of They Call Us Monsters, a new documentary that follows their lives in a Los Angeles juvenile detention center. Halfway through the class, Antonio returns to juvenile court and gets released with time served. Focused on the specific stories of Jarad, Antonio, and Juan, the latter two exemplifying the large Latinopopulation that often finds itself behind bars, the project shows us how a screenwriting class allows these boys to think back to what drove them to where they are currently. As any parent, teacher or person who has worked with teens will tell you, teenagers are impulsive. 83%. The first individual we come across is Antonio, who was arrested at the age of 14-years-old. You can see why we need to ask for your help. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to watch the film, as it provided me insight into the lives of an often-forgotten part of the population, educated me on the debate, about juvenile justice reform, and left me with a hunger to learn more. Antonio, a methamphetamine addict, recounts seeing a man shot to death in front of him when he was 8, but insists hes not traumatized: I guess you do kind of get used to it. And when he was 12, Jarad found his stepfather trying to stab himself to death an unsuccessful attempt that nonetheless resulted in the breakup of his family. Antonio: Fear of trust, fear of being alone, fear of public speaking, and fear of vulnerability,, Juan: Death, loneliness, darkness, and love. As the screenwriting classes progress, Jarad, Anthony, and Juan become close, and they develop a bond with the screenwriting teacher. The documentary might gain from longer-term or return treatment, particularly now that a California bill offering early parole hearings, under consideration for much of the films running time (and shown passing in 2013), has taken effect. These are young men who will be tried as adults for violent crimes and face decades, if not hundreds of years in adult jails. If everyone who reads our reporting helps to pay for it, our future would be much more secure. People who are trying through art help these kids deal with the trauma that they have gone through.. 2017. When the new law went into effect in January of 2014, it established a new parole process to be enacted on either the 15th, 20th or 25th year of incarceration, depending on the sentence or controlling offense for people who were under the age of 18 when they committed a crime and who had been tried and sentenced as adults. Ones kicking himself over an unrequited lifelong crush. Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. And, even if he is released, Juan faces deportation and separation from his family, including his infant son. Antonio, one of Jarad's inmates, is blindsided by the news that he will be a free man. Juan, Jarad and Antonio, all young teens, face decades in prison. Nevertheless, it proved to be very insightful because I [saw] how I was coping with pain, hurt and the fact I forfeited my freedom. [Antonio was advised by his lawyer to decline a follow-up interview.] Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Wendy C. Woolcock, the Special Agent in Charge of the Special Operations Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA"), announced today that JUAN ANTONIO HERNNDEZ ALVARADO, a/k/a "Tony Hernndez" ("HERNNDEZ") was sentenced to life in prison for cocaine-importation, weapons, and . For his senior recital, Lear wrote and performed his folk-opera Lillian (about a man who travels to the great Pacific garbage patch to reclaim all hes lost) with a 20-piece orchestra and light show. Cowan conceptualized the idea to teach screenwriting and then produce and shoot a movie from the script the kids wrote. Another leads you on a mocking tour of his new home. Toward the end of "They Call Us Monsters," Antonio has been released. When Hernandez talks to the filmmakers at home, there are toddlers strewn all . I appreciated that the consequences of such serious crimes were not swept under the rug: a victim of one of the shootings shares her story, and a large part of the film follows the struggles of the prisoners families. To their advocates, they're kids. While in the courthouse representing himself for the hearing about her murder, he asked the judge if he could use the law . Juan Gamez, Antonio Hernandez and Jarad Nava are the youthful offenders at the heart of "They Call Us Monsters," a new documentary that follows their lives in a Los Angeles juvenile detention center. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. You can look at that and say, OK, theyre obviously sociopaths. But what I would encourage people to do is peel a layer off, go a little bit deeper and entertain the idea that maybe theyre temporarily sociopaths, Lear said. They Call Us Monsters is a 2016 American documentary directed and produced by Ben Lear. I have to admit that it was weird to see myself from an outside perspective. For Lear, who now sits on the InsideOUT Writers advisory board, the shift has been heartening. Was there anything that tripped you out or that you learned about yourself after watching the movie? All three boys have, ------------------------------------------. To some, they're kids. As prison reform continues to be a hot topic of conversation, Ben Lears They Call Us Monsters hopes to give voice to those inside the Compound. Maybe that journey toward remorse and responsibility is different for everyone. I really was." They are locked up in a separate guardhouse, where legal actions will be served on teenagers in the same way that they are served on adults. Even the JC, listening on the other end of the line, is visibly moved. Our news judgments are made independently not based on or influenced by donors. Maybe it takes a lifetime., Lear, the son of television producer and liberal activist Norman Lear, was drawn to the issue after he was invited to sit in on one of the scriptwriting classes run by InsideOUT Writers, a Los Angeles-based organization that teaches creative writing to kids in juvenile lockups. Follow her on Twitter at @EmilyBeJordan. Also, people who have done enough time in prison age out of violent crime in their thirties and forties. Also, the story of my family, [e]specially my moms.. They Call Us Monsters A Documentary Film Review 'The Call Us Monsters' is a documentary film in which the filmmakers are granted access to the Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar California. As any parent, teacher or person who has worked with teens will tell you, teenagers are impulsive. sonido original - EL NIO DE FUEGO. Do they deserve a second chance? "They Call Us Monsters," created by Ben Lear son of Norman Lear, features Pomona resident Jarad Nava and two other teens at Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar and raises the question. Juan tells Cowan and his classmates how he was going to give the real Abby a poem but he never got the chance. sonido original - joxls . She weeps as she talks about the harrowing moment in which she thought she was going to die. They seem like typical American teenagers if they . It wasnt a direct line, it was a process that had zigzaggy lines. In what is then the pinnacle moment of the documentary, Juan watches from the sidelines as actors brought in by Cowan enact a scene from his own life as he wishes it had actually transpired. Unrated Starring Allegra Acosta, Nate Corddry, Gabriel Cowan. Other stories Id like to tell I look around at the people around me and I see great stories of personal achievementsor overcoming struggles. TikTok video from Editorial Applehead (@appleheadteam): "Antonio Hernndez, director de "Capitn Trueno y El Santo Grial", recibe el Premio Applehead Sah-Di-A 2023 y nos enva un saludo.". And thats part of what I think works so well with these art programs. He's a likable Mexican drug addict who comes from a single mom who is little more than a professional baby machine. Justice is not to seek retribution or eye for an eye, but there were homicides what they did and must pay in that sense. Their stories are framed by their participation in a screenwriting class taught by Gabriel Cowan, one of the documentarys producers and by the debate among California lawmakers over a bill that would grant young offenders with lengthy terms a chance at parole after 15 years. The documentary "They Call Us Monsters" explored the life of three juvenile offenders, i.e. , Scott Budnick (The Hangover) who executive produced the They Call Us Monsters as a labor of love. Next, Jarad sings a lyric from Hotel California that again captures the No Exit quality of the whole story: You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.. Lear, who released Lillian as an album, partnered with Plastic Pollution Coalition and 4Gyres to raise awareness for plastic pollution. Juan and Jarad were 16 when they were arrested; Antonio was 14. Juan mostly appears contemplative, or maybe just catatonic. Juan was charged with murder, while Jarad and Antonio were accused of attempted murder. His story became one of the main themes in their film. The film follows three juveniles: Juan Gamez, Antonio Hernandez and Jarad Nava. Documentary 2017 1 hr 21 min iTunes. They Call Us Monsters is a 2016 American documentary directed and produced by Ben Lear. Watch They Call Us Monsters (2016) full movie online for free Legislators debate legislation that allows for adult charges for juvenile offenders. They Call Us Monsters, directed by Ben Lear (Norman Lears son), might seem like a straightforward advocacy documentary. Theyd seem like typical teenage boys if they werent awaiting trial for violent crimes. Jarads victim describes waking up paralyzed, and the film shows her trying to navigate her apartment in a wheelchair. The girl in Los turns out to be Abby, the love of Juans life whom he let get away. Who Creates the Dragons Brave Knights must Slay? Anyone can read what you share. Another, Juan, who joined a gang before his 13th birthday, faces 90. We have a small favor to ask. (alumni participate in group gatherings called Writing Circles, where young people come together to share their work and talk). Meet Juan, Jarad, and Antonio, all in their teens, all facing decades in prison. Their convictions range from charges of attempted murder to first degree murder, and slowly each boy's character and the story of how he ended up in the compound is revealed. Through their introspection and self-discovery, I felt an overwhelming sense of aspiration for these young people, despite their circumstances. They Call Us Monsters goes behind the walls of the Compound, a high-security facility where Los Angeles houses its most violent juvenile criminals. The focus of InsideOUT is usually poetry and prose (alumni participate in group gatherings called Writing Circles, where young people come together to share their work and talk). 83%. While the gravity of their crimes is great, these young men are still simply teenagers. original sound - . 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