prisoners
Crossing Thresholds
Posted July 18th, 2007 by AnonymousThresholds in Delaware County and Scribe Video Center
Adriana Quintero & Phil Rothberg
$20 for individuals / $35 for Community Institutions ie: libraries, schools, non-profits / $50 for Universities & Businesses
"What you find behind those clanging doors is so different from what you might expect. It's a human being looking for help," marvels longtime Threshold volunteer Theddress Thorpe. When Pennsylvania boasts a recidivism rate of 67%, and legislation passed each year further stigmatizes people who have a criminal record, yet are trying to become productive citizens again, programs like Threshold become very, very necessary.
Thresholds in Delaware County, Inc. is a non-profit organization which teaches decision-making skills to interested inmates in Delaware County prisons by developing and maintaining a volunteer corps. Through this program, Thresholds builds a constructive relationship between the prisons and the community.
Adriana Quintero is a videomaker who also works as a production/administrative staffer for the Termite TV Collective.
Phil Rothberg is an independent film and videomaker. He also serves as Street Movies coordinator and has served as a facilitator for several Community Visions projects at Scribe Video Center.
December 4, 2002 - Brief mention in Philadelphia Weekly, Repertory Film Listings
December 11, 2002 - As part of Community Visions premiere at Prince Music Theater (Philadelphia, PA)
Books Through Bars
Posted July 18th, 2007 by AnonymousProduced by Books Through Bars & Scribe Video Center
Cheryl Hess & Anula Shetty
$20 for individuals / $35 for Community Institutions ie: libraries, schools, non-profits / $50 for Universities & Businesses
What's a prisoner to do when learning is low on the penitentiary priority list?

Books Through Bars was founded in 1989 when an employee of New Society Publishers began receiving and answering book requests from indigent prisoners. Today, the group is comprised of 9 core collective members (including one member of the original collective) and nearly 20 occasional volunteers, receives approximately 1000 letters each month, and has received grants from Bread and Roses Community Fund, Phoebus Criminal Justice Initiative, Resist Inc., Womens Way, the Funding Exchange, and the Puffin Foundation. Originally sponsored by the New Society Educational Foundation, Books Through Bars recently received 501(c)3 status.
Cheryl Hess is a documentary filmmaker. Her most recent film, La Promesa (The Vow) was filmed in Cuba and is set against the backdrop of St. Lazarus Day (December 17th). Her work has been broadcast on WYBE TV 35 and The Learning Channel. Her films have been awarded Best Documentary at the Big Muddy Film Festival, U.S. Super 8 and DV Festival, and the Philadelphia Film Festival's Festival of Independents, among others. She has received a Fulbright Grant to travel to Colombia, a Window of Opportunity grant from the Leeway Foundation, and a Philadelphia Stories Production Grant from WYBE.
Anula Shetty is an award-winning filmmaker who received her Master of Fine Arts degree in Film & Media Arts from Temple University. She is a producer and co-director of Termite TV Collective, a group of video artists who produce experiemental and activist media. Shetty is a recipient of three Media Arts Fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and has taught film and video production at the University of the Arts, Arcadia University, Asian Arts Initiative and Scribe Video Center.
February 26, 1998 - "Nobody's A Star: The uncommon power of Philadelphia's community video scene," by Sam Adams, Philadelphia City Paper
May 3, 1998 - 25th Anniversary Athens International Film & Video Festival (Athens, OH)
May 7, 1998 - Shorts Program 2: Personal Explorations and Community Issues at Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema (Philadelphia, PA)
August 11 & 16, 2001 - Prison Breaks: Redemption, Revolution, and Reality at the Prince Music Theater (Philadelphia, PA)