FROM BLACK, we FADE IN on ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE: United States v. Joseph Derusse. Jesse Derusse is being interviewed. Austin Tompkins (Joseph’s Best Friend) “Joseph as a person, exempting this one situation, uh, is an outstanding person, outstanding friend, outstanding pillar for his family.” Cut to TEXT CARD. TEXT CARD In an emerging trend in the U.S. criminal justice system, lawyers are creating films to influence the sentencing of their convicted clients. These films are called “sentencing videos.” We CUT from the TEXT CARD to ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE: United States v. Joseph Derusse. Jesse Derusse is being interviewed. Jesse Derusse (Joseph’s Brother): “He would give the little that he has just to help somebody else.” Austin Tompkins (Joseph’s Best Friend): “When you think about that word kidnapping and you think about what it entails, that doesn’t fit Joseph at all. The thought of him going to jail blows my mind.” We CUT from to TEXT CARD. TEXT CARD These films are called “sentencing videos.” We CUT to ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE. Brittany Derusse (Joseph’s Sister-in-Law): “I mean look at him. There’s nothing intimidating about him at all. And now he’s going to have to suffer for 12-15 years?” We CUT from the ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE of United States v. Joseph Derusse to a Marriott conference room where the US v. Joseph Derusse video is being screened for a large audience. Brittany Derusse (Joseph’s Sister-in-Law): “I don’t think he deserves that. I don’t.” Conference attendees view the Derusse sentencing video. Tricia Rothenberg (Joseph’s Family Friend) [Video being Screened at Festival]: “I couldn’t imagine him in prison.” The video ends. We zoom out from the projector and reveal an audience of 40-50 people. A TEXT CARD fades in over this. TEXT CARD This gave rise to an annual workshop where lawyers learn to recognize effective films: the Federal Defender Film Festival. Doug (O/S): “Wow. That was good stuff.” DOUG PASSON speaks from a podium to his audience. Doug: “Is anyone crying right now? Did you feel that? That’s the power of these films. Our job is to make judges suffer. It used to be real easy for them. Plug in the numbers, give them a guideline sentence and be done with it. This is the way we make judges suffer.” Our camera zooms in on the projector screen that reads: “US v. Derusse: Movies are Stories Told with Pictures.” We enter a montage that speeds through the Derusse sentencing video, while Doug speaks underneath. Doug: “And so Mr. Derusse was a young kid who is head-over-heels in love with a girl. There was a huge family rift. He snapped, supposedly kidnapped her, had a weapon, and transported her across state lines. So he’s facing these massive terrible ugly charges, right? A rookie mistake would be to pick an image that was on the nose, like maybe show a jail cell. “ We intercut with footage of US v. Derusse being projected on the conference room screen. Doug: Instead, they made the choice to show him a little bit younger in a Spider-Man t-shirt, that kind of thing. And the judge is looking at that kid saying: “that could be my own kid.” Ok, so the prosecutor’s looking at 135 months. He received a sentence of three months.” The audience erupts in applause. Doug: “Jill Ginstling? Did I say that right? Jill Ginstling – is she here? Hey! Yay! Come on up. Jill Ginstling, maker of the awarded sentencing video, walks toward the stage to receive her award. We CUT to Jill’s interview. She is being interviewed just outside the conference room. Jill Ginstling: “I was very excited that the film was selected for the festival. I did not expect it to be. Quite frankly, I wasn’t sure that it was good enough. I helped with the editing and because I knew the judge, you know, I felt that I could help pick and choose what would be effective for him.” CUT to Doug’s interview, also outside the conference room. We see the interviewer tinker with his camera while Doug speaks. Doug: “First of all, this is a weird experience being on this side of the camera because I’m usually on that side of the camera. And it’s also a weird experience to sort of pull back the curtain on what we do in these training sessions because I guess there is like a little bit of “secret sauce.” CUT back to the conference room. The film festival opening animation plays. Doug (V/O): “I mean the reality of it is is that this isn’t your typical sentencing film festival, this is a way we teach lawyers how to do this. It’s just a non-traditional learning session.” We hard-CUT to Doug leaving the podium. He approaches a table with a cloth draped over it. He removes the cloth, revealing a few bottles of wine. Doug: “I’m from Arizona. It’s a two-hour time difference. I’m not sure what time it is now. But I’m pretty sure it’s wine o’clock. Go and pour yourself a glass and let’s have some fun and get started.” We CUT to - ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE: Glove and Boots’ The Hero’s Journey, wherein two puppets gab about Joseph Campbell’s theory of the “Hero’s Journey.” Puppet 1: “The hero’s journey is a theory by a guy named Joseph Campbell. One of the ideas behind it, is that all great stories include the same characters.” CUT back to the conference room. The video is being projected for the festival attendees. Puppet 1 (O/S): “Every story has a hero. They’re usually just your average joe in the beginning, because your audience has to relate to them.” Puppet 2 (O/S): “You’re making this up.” Puppet 1 (O/S): “No! Think about it: all great stories have heroes. The start small with problems to overcome. And then they gain the wisdom and power to solve their conflicts.” We see reactions from several conference attendees. Puppet 2 (O/S): “Sounds like you’re talking about… Luke Skywalker?” Puppet 1 (O/S): “Exactly.” Doug returns to the podium. Doug: “Alright. So that’s the stages, those are the characters, now let’s see if we can make this practical to what we do.” Doug continues to lecture from the podium. Doug: “The rookie mistake when we do these movies is to just do a parade of talking heads.” CUT to: snippets from sentencing videos. Judge: “The juvenile justice system failed when it came to Chris.” Advocate: “Child protective services wasn’t there to save him.” Brother of Defendant: “I think we both was just trying to survive.” CUT to: conference room. Doug continues to lecture. Doug: “That’s not a movie. The way we get to the heart of the matter is through pictures. That’s what transports us into the world of empathy. And here the fact that he was so devoted to his family, it meant something more. We SMASH to ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE: US v. GREG SLOAN. Greg Sloan: “The doctors say she’s 50/50 because her kidney was already ruptured and the poison was already leaking into her body.” Greg’s Wife: “Two weeks later, I went into a coma. Things was coming due, you know the rent was due, everything was due. They was coming to shut off the lights. How was I supposed to pay for it? All he was trying to do was help me out that way the kids would be ok at least.” Greg Sloan: “I was desperate. But I just hope that someone understands why I did it. I’m not saying that I’m not guilty. I’m just saying… try to understand that we all fall short sometimes.” The video fades out while gospel music rises. We CUT back to the conference room. Doug: “Alright you can hit the lights. Ok. I love this right. Ok, so there’s a big debate. Do we put music in these? I say if you can do it, do it. But what you’ll see when you watch the whole movie is Mr. Sloan is a gospel singer.” We CUT back to the sentencing video. Greg Sloan: “Me and my dad make gospel music.” Gospel music plays, before we hard cut back to the conference room. Doug: “So that was him with his dad’s music in there, which is absolutely brilliant and more importantly, it was absolutely integrated into the story. So this is a story about why this crime happened. He was desperate for money. His wife, the love of his life, had taken ill, he had this transitory possession of a weapon, he made a small amount of money and got in a heap of trouble. So the government’s asking for 33 months. Sentence: 3 years probation.” The audience applauds. We CUT to attorney Deborah Williams’s interview. Deborah: “It’s really emotional watching these videos. These films are a real good representation of the real America.” Doug being interviewed by a cameraperson. Doug: ““These folks are like me. This could be my own son, this could be my own daughters and myself. And so our job is not to go for sympathy. Oh he’s had such a hard life for me but never gets us anywhere. Our job is to go for empathy.” Montage of the film festival. Doug unwraps the “Chuckie” award before addressing the crowd. Doug: “Lights please, my friend.” A montage begins of sentencing video snippets, matched to music. Doug (V/O) “Anybody who’s been in our system and has lived these cases know that what’s happening now is complete and utter bullshit. There have been hundreds and hundreds of people convicted in court beyond a reasonable doubt and it’s come out that it’s not true. They’re innocent.” Snippets from sentencing videos. Interviewee 1: “I don’t know how to stop doing what is – what I was doing.” Interviewee 2: “I never made it to my son’s funeral.” Interviewee 3: “My son was violated.” Doug (V/O): “These are human beings. So they deserve a little bit more consideration than a sentencing chart pulled out of someone’s ass.” Interviewee 4: “I’m sorry we didn’t do the things that we needed you to save you.” Interviewee 5: “This is not a person who is going to repeat anything.” Interviewee 6: “Being in this situation forced me to look at me. And sometimes you don’t like the person looking back at you.” CUT to: Doug handing out festival awards. Doug (V/O): “I’m in an adversarial system. It’s two sides of the story. They’ve got their story. I’ve got ours.” CUT to: Doug hands out an award to a lawyer behind the case US v. Marcel Williams. Doug: “Here’s your award. Judge’s choice, second place…” Doug (V/O): We have to make them see our people as not the other, see them as themselves.” Doug invites Deborah Williams to the stage to accept her award. Deborah: “This is for our habeas unit, who produced a killer – no, sorry. A kickass video.” We cut to Doug being interviewed by another filmmaker. Doug: “It’s like they say about writers, you know. ‘If you want to be a writer, write. Just go write.’ Make a movie.” The montage climaxes and we HARD CUT to an establishing, exterior shot of the Marriott, the empty conference room, then to Doug in an elevator. Doug: “Yeah, I think it went great. I think, um, I think each clip was really impactful in its own was and I was surprised. I was literally crying at the last movie and I don’t know if I cried the first time I saw it but I felt the energy in the room or something… You could hear a pin drop. CUT to: Doug’s room. Doug edits a sentencing video. Doug (V/O): “Is documentary filmmaking the literal, absolute truth? No it’s not. What it is, is the emotional truth.” Doug (V/O): “Is documentary filmmaking the literal, absolute truth?” CUT to: Doug’s room. Doug edits a sentencing video. Doug (V/O): “No it’s not. What it is, is the emotional truth.” Doug finishes working on the video and prepares to export it. Doug: “Alright. Good enough, right? File, dip to black, baby. SMASH TO BLACK. Closing credits.