P4W: Prison for Women

Directed by Janis Cole and Holly Dale

Canada, 1981 (documentary, 80 minutes, colour, English)

Also known as "Prison for Women"

Film Description:
"The film centers on five women, their stories, their relationships and their lives in prison. Inmates reveal their isolation as mothers, lovers, friends, and fellow inmates inside Canada's only Prison for Women at Kingston, Ontario."
-- Spectrum Films (source)

Film Credits (partial):
Written by:	Janis Cole, Holly Dale
Produced by:	Janis Cole, Holly Dale
Cinematography:	Nesya Shapiro
Film Editing:	Janis Cole, Holly Dale
Music:	Susie, Kas
Production Company:	Spectrum Films, Pan-Canadian Film Distributors

(sources)

Award won by P4W: Prison for Women

Genie Award: Best Theatrical Documentary -- awarded to Janice Cole, Holly Dale

Notes about P4W: Prison for Women

Filmed in Kingston, Ontario.
There is also a 54-minute version of this film.

(sources)

Quote by the Director

"There were about 100 inmates. We met with them maybe half a dozen times before we started to shoot. We really got to know a lot of the inmates, and we researched their crimes very well. There were about sixty women who wanted to be in the film; we narrowed the list to half a dozen people that we really wanted to focus on."
-- Janis Cole (source)

Quotes about P4W: Prison for Women

"The unobtrusive style of the film [P4W: Prison for Women] is perfectly suited to the brutal honesty of the inmates' stories. Mixing cinéma-vérité with interviews, the filmmakers created a poignant picture of a group of women struggling to maintain their individuality, their sanity, and their closest relationships."
-- Wyndham Wise (source)

"Although the directors see their film [P4W: Prison for Women] as being primarily about the inmates' spirit of survival, a firm feminist voice emerges more strongly. We don't see any men in the film, but enough men are bitterly mentioned to make the prison signify the oppression and restriction of the patriarchal macrocosm."
-- Maurice Yacowar (source)

Bibliography for P4W: Prison for Women

Articles from Newspapers, Magazines, or News Websites

Feindel, Pat. "P4W an honest portrayal of life inside Women's prison." Review of P4W: Prison for Women. Kinesis, April 1982.
Jackson, Marni. "Social ecology of harsh places." Maclean's, October 12, 1981.
Keefe Rhodes, Nancy. "Key Canadian films by women." Stylus Magazine, October 24, 2007.
Variety. "P4W: Prison for Women." Review of P4W: Prison for Women. Variety, September 9, 1981.
Yacowar, Maurice. "P4W: Prison for Women." Review of P4W: Prison for Women. Cinema Canada, November 1981.

Web Sites about P4W: Prison for Women

"IMDb: P4W Prison for Women." Internet Movie Database, Inc. http://imdb.com/title/tt0129283/combined.