Educational Media Reviews Online

Gilda Sheppard’s deeply moving and highly reflective documentary, Since I Been Down, takes viewers on a multi-decade journey, revisiting the circumstances, rooted in systemic racism, that lead to a generation being stolen from the Hilltop community in Tacoma, Washington. As told through intimate first hand accounts, rich archival content, and haunting performances, the film offers a truly unique and all-encompassing perspective that we typically do not see in other documentaries focused on incarceration. At 105 minutes, Sheppard intentionally makes space for a wide variety of community member survivors' contributions, including formerly and currently incarcerated people, mothers, community activists, lawyers, and law enforcement to reflect on the painful memories surrounding the Hilltop community in the late 1980’s to early 1990’s, and the trauma that remains.

Perhaps of most interest to instructors will be the in-depth look at the prisoner-lead programs, including the Black Prisoners’ Caucus and the T.E.A.C.H. program, focused on education and self-actualization. Sheppard includes truly unique footage from within Clallam Bay Corrections Center, showing actual planning, teaching and reflection on the prisoner-designed curriculum. While the film is focused on the Tacoma region, and the unfortunate reality that Washington is a state without a parole system, it does an excellent job of elevating the political and legal realities at play throughout the U.S., and therefore is highly recommended for courses in Legal Studies, African American Studies, American Studies, Education, Criminal Justice, and Social Welfare.

Awards:
Documentary Feature Gold Prize, Social Justice Film Festival; Audience Favorite Award Winner, 2020 DOC NYC; 2021 Domestic Best Cinematography, thin line; Winner Award of Excellence, Impact Docs Awards.

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