“Since I Been Down,” Directed by Gilda Sheppard

Screenshot from "Since I Been Down" documentary, via Jimmie Lewis Productions.

Since I Been Down, directed by Gilda Sheppard, is a social justice documentary that examines the harsh draconian culture of punishment and shows a model of healing.

Watch Since I Been Down through the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival ($10).

Watch a trailer of the documentary (free).

Since I Been Down focuses on the community of Tacoma, Washington. In 1993, Washington state passed the three-strikes law, which forces mandatory life imprisonment on anyone that’s been convicted of a serious violent felony and has had two similar felony convictions before. The law, first implemented in Washington and then enacted in over half of the states in the U.S., was implemented alongside other fear-based policies in the ‘80s and ‘90s. This was the age that the terminology “super predator” was weaponized against Black communities, and the peak of the War on Drugs and gang activity escalated in major cities.

This destructive policy terrorized Black communities across the country. But Since I Been Down focuses specifically on the youth that lost their freedom to our punitive justice system. The documentary centers men and women in Washington State prisons, incarcerated between 13 and 25 years of age, and their efforts to create a transformative model to learn, grow and heal in a deeply inequitable system.

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The culture of punishment and its consequence is our shared reality in America today. Especially in these times of legislated violence and fear of difference, who better to show us the triumph of the human spirit than those caught behind bars for life?

Director Gilda Sheppard said that the film took over 14 years to complete. It blends interviews with archival footage to lie bare the destructiveness of our criminal justice system. The film doesn’t focus on the charges against those imprisoned but the discrimination, disinvestment, and coercion that fueled heavy policing and incarceration.

This film deals with people who have committed violent crime. It’s not even a question of, ‘Are they innocent?’ This is not a film about innocence. This is a film about what we do to our children, and what is justice.”

Gilda Sheppard, in conversation with Alison Smith at Redefine Mag.

About Gilda Sheppard

Reflection Questions

• How has the media shaped your perception of the war on drugs? How has the conversation on drugs changed from the '90s to today?
• How can you be a more active supporter of those impacted by the criminal justice system? How can you advocate for their needs at your school or workplace?

Learn More

• Watch "Cracked Sidewalks," a TEDx conversation by Tonya Wilson.
• Read “The war on drugs, explained” for an overview (Vox).
• Learn more about “Three Strikes, You’re Out” on the Equal Justice Initaitive website.
• Listen to “Ep. 55: Understanding Gentrification, Displacement, & Mass Incarceration” to hear from June Nho Ivers, producer of Since I Been Down and community leader Tonya Wilson to learn more about Tacoma, Washington (Hope Teague website).
• Listen to “Ep. 70: The US is a Prison State, but it Doesn’t Have to Be” a podcast interview with Gilda Sheppard (Nerd Farmer Podcast).