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Reading "Dostoevsky Behind Bars"
June 26, 2014 Leave a Comment
This week on Director’s Cut I sit down with Marc Kornblatt, director of the documentary, “Dostoevsky Behind Bars” which shows what happens when inmates study literature at a minimum security prison. “Dostoevsky” made it’s premiere at this year’s Wisconsin Film Festival.
I first met Marc when I interviewed him about his film “Street Pulse” on last year’s Wisconsin Film Festival episode. It was easy to see how passionate he is about filmmaking. His other credits include, “Community” and “The Making of Carried Away.” Now Milwaukee based, Marc started his career in theater in his home state of New Jersey before receiving his Masters in journalism. It was while studying journalism that Kornblatt discovered his talent for storytelling.
In “Dostoevsky,” Marc does a nice job letting his characters do the talking, which include the inmates and their tutors from the University of Wisconsin. Through “Dostoevsky,” Kornblatt shows how these men transform themselves while incarcerated, thanks to literature. This is a very different atmosphere and may appear much different than your stereotypical or “movie land” prison, but some of these inmates did some pretty serious time at other maximum security facilities before becoming “movie stars.”
Watch the trailer for “Dostoevsky Behind Bars”
“Dostoevsky Behind Bars” is a compelling story, and one would expect nothing less from this compelling storyteller. Join us at 10 this Friday night on Wisconsin Public Television for Director’s Cut and Director’s Cut Presents. Hope to see you!
