Post by thinkinkmesa on May 8, 2009 19:23:49 GMT -5
Lawyers Applaud Filmmaker's Prison Documentary
www.lagunabeachindependent.com/news/2009/0508/arts_ent/023.html
May 8, 2009Home News
Lawyers Applaud Filmmaker's Prison Documentary
The independently produced documentary "Writ Writer," produced and directed
by 1978 LBHS graduate Susanne Mason, has won the 2009 Silver Gavel Award
from the American Bar Association.
Initially broadcast by the Emmy Award-winning series Independent Lens on PBS
in June 2008, "Writ Writer" portrays the historic conflict that emerged in
the 1960s when a cadre of Texas prisoners challenged the brutal conditions
in state prisons. The film focuses on inmate Fred Cruz and attorney Frances
Jalet, whose collaborative efforts led to the legal battle Ruiz v. Estelle,
which led to the most comprehensive court-ordered state prison reform in
U.S. history and landmark litigation for the right of Texas prisoners to
assist one another with lawsuits.
Mason has served as associate producer of several public television
documentaries and more recently produced short historical documentaries
about Austin, Texas, where she now resides.
www.lagunabeachindependent.com/news/2009/0508/arts_ent/023.html
May 8, 2009Home News
Lawyers Applaud Filmmaker's Prison Documentary
The independently produced documentary "Writ Writer," produced and directed
by 1978 LBHS graduate Susanne Mason, has won the 2009 Silver Gavel Award
from the American Bar Association.
Initially broadcast by the Emmy Award-winning series Independent Lens on PBS
in June 2008, "Writ Writer" portrays the historic conflict that emerged in
the 1960s when a cadre of Texas prisoners challenged the brutal conditions
in state prisons. The film focuses on inmate Fred Cruz and attorney Frances
Jalet, whose collaborative efforts led to the legal battle Ruiz v. Estelle,
which led to the most comprehensive court-ordered state prison reform in
U.S. history and landmark litigation for the right of Texas prisoners to
assist one another with lawsuits.
Mason has served as associate producer of several public television
documentaries and more recently produced short historical documentaries
about Austin, Texas, where she now resides.