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Revolving Doors: An Ex-Con's Journey Back to Prison

Filmmaker James Burns spent two years following Jason Bobbitt, a father of five who, despite attempts to retain meaningful employment, fails and returns to prison.

Fifteen years after he left prison, Jason Bobbitt found himself heading back. The father of five tried to find honest work once he got out, but couldn’t—getting arrested on the exact same cocaine charges that first landed him behind bars. He was facing up to ten years away from his home, his wife, and his kids, and there was nothing he could do about it.

In Revolving Doors, filmmaker James Burns spent two years following Bobbitt and his family as the ex-convict prepared to head back to prison. The film is a portrait of American recidivism, told through the unique lens of a filmmaker who also served time in prison and struggled with the effects of incarceration. The documentary chronicles how losing their father to jail for a second time devastated Bobbitt’s family, and—even after getting out on parole 18 months later—it was too late for most of the damage to be undone.

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