Picture House Hosts Screening, Q&A Of 'They Call Us Monsters'

From the Picture House: On Saturday, January 21st at 4:00 p.m. The Picture House Regional Film Center (TPH) will show the powerful new documentary They Call Us Monsters followed by a Q&A with the director Ben Lear led by TPH’s Director of Programming, Marketing, and Theater Management Clayton Bushong.

In California, where the film is set, violent juveniles between 14-17 years old can be tried as adults. They are accused of heinous crimes—murders and attempted murders—that leave their victims’ families shattered. They Call Us Monsters takes the viewer into The Compound, a high-security facility in the middle of Sylmar Juvenile Hall, where we meet three such offenders awaiting trial, who tell the stories of their lives through a movie script. Do they deserve a second chance? Do they have the capacity for change? What is society’s responsibility to these kids? These are the questions legislators are grappling with across the country as they attempt to reform our juvenile justice system.They Call Us Monsters powerfully blurs the line between childhood and adulthood, humanity and evil.

After the screening, TPH’s Director of Programming, Marketing, and Theater Management Clayton Bushong will moderate a discussion and Q&A with the director Ben Lear. Lear – son of legendary television producer Norman Lear -- graduated from NYU in 2010 with a degree in music composition. As 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 he’s lost, with a 20-piece orchestra and light show. Upon the album’s release, he partnered with Plastic Pollution Coalition and 5Gyres to raise awareness for plastic pollution. This work has led Lear to performances at TED and the UN. As a result of shooting this film, Lear sits on the advisory board of InsideOUT Writers and is an ally member within the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, teaching a weekly writing class within the Compound and mentoring former juvenile offenders upon reentry.

Tickets to the special screening and discussion are $15/general admission, $12/students, seniors, and members and are available at www.thepicturehouse.org or at the box office, 175 Wolfs Lane, Pelham, NY 10803.

Photos courtesy of TPH