San Quentin

A family man convicted of killing an intruder must cope with life afterward in the violent penal system.

A young female prison guard finds out that her first assignment is to San Quentin, one of the toughest prisons in the country.

Part fact and part fiction, Zoot Suit is the film version of Luis Valdez's critically acclaimed play, based on the actual Sleepy Lagoon murder case and the zoot suit riots of 1940s Los Angeles. Henry Reyna is the leader of a group of Mexican-Americans being sent to San Quentin without substantial evidence for the death of a man at Sleepy Lagoon. As part of the defense committee, Alice Bloomfield and George Shearer fight the blatant miscarriage of justice for the freedom of Henry and his friends.

A San Quentin inmate, sentenced to life without parole, writes a play that catches the interest of a reporter.

Story of twin brothers - one trying to help the other escape from prison.

A corrupt official at San Quentin tries to frame an innocent guard for several murders within the prison.

Fast forgery without mistakes. Shoplifting under pressure. Effective body disposal. The ability to multitask various felonies. These are just a few of the "talents" that mother-and-son grifters Sante and Kenny Kimes possess. Based on shocking true events, this flick takes you into the dark, sordid world of this deadly duo, from their bizarre relationship to their heinous crimes. It's no surprise that two-time Emmy winner Judy Davis earned a nomination for this performance.

Crusading newspaperman Cliff Roberts masquerades as a prison guard to document inhuman conditions.

Drama set in San Quentin prison.

San Quentin's new warden crusades for reform and for a framed inmate who loves a nurse.

Paul Rodriguez performs stand up comedy at San Quentin State Prison as well as has personal interviews with the prisoners.

On February 24th, 1969, two days before he turned 37, Johnny Cash led his traveling troupe behind the foreboding walls of the California State Penitentiary at San Quentin, long known as one of America's toughest prisons.

Desmond plays convict Mike Gilbert, who goes on the lam with fellow prisoners Gruber and Graham when he finds out his wife is divorcing him and feels he has nothing to lose. Gruber intends to get his robbery loot, which his father, Curly, has successfully hidden from the law. After commandeering a plane, they double-cross Graham, who assembles his gang to get revenge - and Gruber's loot. Meanwhile, Gilbert falls in love with Robbie, his ex-wife’s sister. Through Robbie’s influence, Gilbert decides to go straight, but his cohorts aren’t quite so willing to reform.

An ex-con sets up a program to straighten out hard-core prisoners. Things don't go as planned.

On June 3, 1973, a man was murdered in a busy intersection of San Francisco’s Chinatown as part of an ongoing gang war. Chol Soo Lee, a 20-year-old Korean immigrant who had previous run-ins with the law, was arrested and convicted based on flimsy evidence and the eyewitness accounts of white tourists who couldn’t distinguish between Asian features. Sentenced to life in prison, Chol Soo Lee would spend years fighting to survive behind bars before journalist K.W. Lee took an interest in his case. The intrepid reporter’s investigation would galvanize a first-of-its-kind pan-Asian American grassroots movement to fight for Chol Soo Lee’s freedom, ultimately inspiring a new generation of social justice activists.

Using rare historical footage, vintage musical recordings, and interviews with 88-year-old Pedro J. Gonzalez and his wife, this film chronicles Gonzalez’s long and colorful life, from his early days with Pancho Villa during the Mexican Revolution, to his career as a popular radio personality in Los Angeles in the 1930s, to the controversial court case that sent him to San Prison, a victim of the repressive forces operating against the Chicano/Mexicano community during that period.

A life-long criminal continues his practice of breaking out of Oregon State Prison – much to the frustration of the police.

Produced by Bob Cording and Jerry Humphries in 1977, "Set Free" takes a look at the role that Christianity can play in the rehabilitation of the incarcerated. The film was something of a departure for Cording-Humphries films, as the company was most well-known for its inspirational sports films including the breakthrough Christian surfing film; 'Tales from the Tube'. At the time "Set Free" was made glimpses inside penitentiaries were rare, as cameras rarely penetrated their secure walls. The film's message remains relevant today.

The grim news made international headlines: On August 21, 1971, prison authorities discovered a gun on famed Soledad Brother author, activist and San Quentin inmate George Jackson. A shootout ensued, killing Jackson, two other inmates and three guards, and wounding three more officers. Authorities asserted that only lawyer Stephen Bingham could have smuggled the weapon into the prison. Fearing that a conviction for abetting the guards’ deaths would lead to his own murder, the attorney fled, beginning a long, strange odyssey of pseudonymous exile. Strange indeed for the Yale-graduate scion of politically prominent New England elites.

Bay Area visual artist Nigel Poor, and San Quentin inmates Earlonne Woods and Antwan Williams travel to prisons around the world, bringing ‘Ear Hustle’ back inside while navigating how far the project has traveled from where it began. Through their journey, the film explores how ‘Ear Hustle’ — named one of the 100 best podcasts of all time by IME — has changed the way stories about incarceration are told and how its extraordinary evolution has transformed the lives of the people who created it.