Allein in vier Wänden . Alone in Four Walls
Verzio FF Alexandra Westmeier explores the lives of juvenile felons aged 10 to 14. In Russia, lawbreakers can be tried and convicted as adults at the age of fifteen; younger offenders are given reduced sentences and sent to juvenile detention facilities. Some of the inmates we meet are serving time...
| Other Authors: | |
|---|---|
| Institution: | Open Society Archives at Central European University |
| Language: | Russian |
| Published: |
Westmeier, Inigo ; Westmeier, Alexandra
2007
Germany |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10891/osa:11969be0-56b8-4e9e-9814-ea8bb9b446f1 |
| Summary: | Verzio FF
Alexandra Westmeier explores the lives of juvenile felons aged 10 to 14. In Russia, lawbreakers can be tried and convicted as adults at the age of fifteen; younger offenders are given reduced sentences and sent to juvenile detention facilities. Some of the inmates we meet are serving time for theft, some for murder. “They’re animals, not children” – cries out the mother of a murdered teenager. But are they? The director provides glimpses of their home lives, and we begin to realize that, for these children, a correctional facility is sometimes an easier place to be. They are children who never had a childhood and who often take pride in permanent reminders of their criminal pasts: This tattoo means ‘alone among friends’, this one is ‘alone in four walls’ and this star is ‘I’ll never fall on my knees in front of a cop’, says one. Filmmaker Alexandra Westmeier spends enough time with them to see the scared boys beyond the appearance of ‘hard men’. As the merciless statistic shows, over 90% of them will get behind bars again. |
|---|---|
| Published: | 2007 |