Project Synopsis

At its heart, And Counting… tells the story of a mother and son, based on the lived experience of my aunt and cousin – who has just completed a five-year prison sentence. After years of limited contact we meet them on the day the young man walks free. In their quiet reunion, the film begins to explore not only the physical journey home, but the emotional terrain they must navigate to rebuild trust and closeness. 

The core of this project is a process of repair through filmmaking. Together, my aunt, cousin and I are working to write a script based on the first few hours after his release from prison. 

While the road trip is a fictionalized re-creation, portrayed by professional actors, the act of  re-telling and re-shaping the film’s narrative becomes a site where we explore the silences, ruptures, and possibilities that accompany separation and return.

If the past five years AND COUNTING… have taught me anything, it’s that the story of incarceration and family separation is an American story. Each time I share our story, I meet more people who have their own intimate relationships to the criminal justice system, either directly or through loved ones. This film is a healing practice. It is our way of refusing the power of the carceral state and asserting that prison is not the end of our family’s story.