Screen Time
New documentary had its origins at HCC.
On Saturday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m., Northampton's Academy of Music will premiere "Finding the Words: The Story of Voices from Inside," a new documentary about women who write to overcome their experiences with incarceration and addiction.
Weaving together personal narratives along with insights from area experts, "Finding the Words" brings viewers inside the Franklin County Jail, into the homes of formerly incarcerated women, and into local community centers and theaters as the women read their work and share their stories.
"The whole idea of the documentary is to try to dispel myths about women who are incarcerated in America," said Lisa Mahon, a professor of English at Holyoke Community College and one of the scholars interviewed for the film.
Although the Voices from Inside program started in 1999, the film had its origins in the classrooms of HCC.
"It's a very HCC, home-grown production," said HCC English professor and videographer Alex Wagman, one of the film's executive producers, who began working on the project during a sabbatical semester with the support of a $15,000 grant from MassHumanities in 2019.
Voices from Inside first came to Wagman's attention through the group's performances at HCC and through Mahon, whose students have long collaborated with the women in the group through the college's Service Learning Program.
"I've always had the women come into my class in some way, shape, or form," said Mahon, who has been working with Voices from Inside for more than a decade. "I also teach their writing in my classes."
The film features interviews with Mahon, who ran a writing workshop at the women's jail in Chicopee during her own sabbatical semester a few years ago, as well as HCC criminal justice professors Nicole Hendricks and Adina Giannelli, president of the Voices from Inside board of directors. Several other HCC professors who do not appear on screen also served as research consultants: Mary Orisich, professor of economics; Vanessa Martinez, professor of anthropology; and Katharine Daube, professor of sociology.
One of the main women featured in the documentary is HCC and Voices from Inside alum Sonia Mendez, who graduated from HCC in 2020 after first reading her poetry on campus during a Voices from Inside presentation in 2015. (Mendez is also featured on the film's promotional posters.) Aundrea Marschoun '21, another HCC alum, worked as a videographer, and the music was composed by HCC English instructor and singer-songwriter Kelly Vogel.
State Sen. Jo Comerford will help introduce the film at the Academy. Following the screening, the filmmakers and the women featured in the documentary will participate in a Q&A. The entire program will be livestreamed by Northampton Open Media.
Saturday's premiere is sponsored by Arts Equity Group and the City of Northampton. Tickets are free but should be reserved in advance through the Academy of Music website.
Wagman said the filmmakers have also been asked to show the documentary this spring at the Franklin County Jail, the Massachusetts Correctional Institution in Framingham, and the Care Center in Holyoke. Several faculty members also intend to screen the film for their students, including Mahon.
"I'm bringing in the poetry of the women, and then we're going to watch the documentary,' said Mahon who added that Voices from Inside will return to the HCC campus April 28 for their first post-pandemic performance.
"They'll be in the theater," she said. "This is a very 'Voices from Inside' oriented semester."
View the trailer for "Finding the Words" ...
PHOTOS: (Above) Sonia Mendez, who went on to graduate from HCC in 2020, reads her poetry during a Voices from Inside event at HCC in November 2015. Mendez's story is featured in the new documentary, "Finding the Words: The story of Voices from Inside." (Thumbnail) HCC English professor Alex Wagman, right with camera, served as executive producer for the documentary while HCC English professor Lisa Mahon, left, also appears in the film.
