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Natural Life

Tirtza Even

Teven@saic.edu

A film about five juveniles sentenced to life in prison without parole

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Natural Life

Home
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Screenings
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Installation
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School of Visual Arts, NY: Screening and Panel Discussion

April 8, 2015 Tirtza Even

Hosted by the program for Design for Social Innovation (DSI)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2bJ_b61EhE

← UnionDocs, NY: Talk David Weinberg Gallery - Try Youth as Youth →

Press

* Counterpunch: http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/07/22/juvenile-life-without-parole-captured-in-natural-life/, July 2016

* Archive Journal: "Natural Life Archive - Interview with Tirtza Even": http://www.archivejournal.net/issue/5/notes-queries/natural-life-archive/, July 2016

* Medium: https://medium.com/david-weinberg-photography/tirtza-even-s-natural-life-try-youth-as-youth-354909fd5e3e#.6gsysd9h8, November 2015

* Latinalista: "Documentary brings upcoming Supreme Court decision on juvenile life sentences to forefront" http://latinalista.com/media-2/videos/documentary-brings-upcoming-supreme-court-decision-on-juvenile-life-sentences-to-forefront, September 2015

* PrisonPhotography.Org: "New, Interactive Online Archive Of Stories Makes The Case Against ‘Juvenile Life Without Parole’" http://prisonphotography.org/2015/09/24/new-interactive-online-archive-of-stories-makes-the-case-against-juvenile-life-without-parole/, September 2015

* Immersive: "A Life Behind Bars"; a cover story on Efren Paredes and on Natural Life: http://immersive.sh/telesurenglish/ngSujDqpB?fb_ref=Default, July 2015

* ATTN: “New Documentary Explores People Sentenced to Life in Prison as Teens.” http://www.attn.com/stories/1738/problem-juvenile-life-without-parole-natural-life, May 2015

* Just Means: "The film uses a tense but effective split-screen visual technique and personal storytelling, focusing on five inmates in Michigan who have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for crimes committed as juveniles. The effect is such that an otherwise dry political issue becomes downright human, and compels an honest conversation about our justice system." http://www.justmeans.com/blogs/designing-change-how-a-mfa-program-in-design-is-leading-innovation, April 2015

* Screen Magazine, Loading Doc: http://screenmag.com/story/2015/apr/24/11229/, April 2015

* Visual Art Source: http://www.visualartsource.com/index.php?page=editorial&pcID=27&aID=2700

* PrisonPhotography.Org: http://prisonphotography.org/2015/03/16/what-are-we-doing-here-some-thoughts-on-cell-walls-and-gallery-walls/

* Hyperallergic: The Stories of Minors Sentenced to Life in Prison "Art can seem so tangential to the process of social activism motivating real political change, but Natural Life transcends that. The third part of the project will be a web-based archive and interactive exhibition, to be completed by May, breaking the stagnant time barrier of activist art or the duration of an exhibition in a gallery or museum, which can make issues feel just as temporary. What Natural Life shows is that truth cannot be proved solely through process and facts, and that these stories — like the lives they chronicle — don’t just end when the film does." http://hyperallergic.com/189356/the-stories-of-minors-sentenced-to-life-in-prison/, March 2015

* DEPE Space: Natural Life, a film by Tirtza Even https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hliG0RaI-Fg

* WSWS: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/04/08/natu-a08.html, April 2015

* E-Flux: http://www.e-flux.com/announcements/ragnar-kjartansson-jamian-juliano-villani-and-tirtza-even/

* WMUK: Michigan Juvenile Lifers Subject Of New Documentary http://wmuk.org/post/michigan-juvenile-lifers-subject-new-documentary, March 2015

* ACLU, Illinois: http://www.aclu-il.org/photography-and-social-reform-in-twentieth-and-twenty-first-century-america-documenting-the-plight-of-children/

* Three Shows Give Artistic Perspective on the Lasting Damage of Violence:http://www.chicagogallerynews.com/news/2015/2/three-shows-give-artistic-perspective-on-the-lasting-damage-of-violence

* ACLU blog: http://www.aclumich.org/blog/2015-02-23/natural-life-look-inside-michigan%E2%80%99s-juvenile-lifers

* Weekend's Top 3 Picks http://badatsports.com/2015/top-3-weekend-picks-213-215/

* Chicago Park District Inaugural Local Film Showcase h ttp:/press_releases/2014/aug/mayor-emanuel--chicago-park-district-announce-films-to-be-featur.html

* Marfa Public Radio: Talk at Ten Interview about Natural Life http://marfapublicradio.org/blog/talk-at-ten/documentary-natural-life-juvenile-incarceration/

* Northside Film Festival Awards http://northsidefestival.com/announcing-the-northside-diy-film-competition-winners/

* Hammer to Nail, What to watch http://www.hammertonail.com/film-festivals/northside-festival’s-2014-diy-film-competition/, June 16, 2014

* Northside Film Festival: My Top Picks, http://www.tremr.com/abby-deering/northside-film-festival-my-top-picks, Abby Deering, June 16, 2014

* "12 accept $100K in grants for social change projects", Reel Chicago, Indie Cinema, June 03, 2014

* "‘Natural Life’ Documentary Asks if Juvenile Life Sentences Are Natural – or Death", The Chicago Bureau, April 28, 2014

* "Video artist Tirtza Even takes a documentary approach to sociopolitical issues and uses interactive installations to communicate her ideas; her latest work, designed as a dual projection for museum exhibition, employs split-screen imagery to look at the crimes of six adult prisoners, each sentenced as youths to life without parole, or "natural life." The paradox that someone might lead a natural life behind bars is central to the film; the director couples interviews with archival footage and staged scenarios to create a sense of confusion and injustice; she never pardons her subjects' actions, but she convincingly condemns the more archaic aspects of our penal and judiciary systems as they process lower-class minority teens. Unlike other recent documentaries on prison issues, this has a riveting performance element that transcends stodgy journalism." Drew Hunt, The Chicago Reader, April 18, 2014

* Jailed for life: "The following is a look at five individuals who are serving a Natural Life sentence (life without parole) for a crime they committed as juveniles," begins the documentary "Natural Life," which comes to the Siskel Film Center this week. No cameras were allowed inside the Michigan prison where the inmates reside. Instead, the doc is a split-screen mixture of phone interviews and abstract re-enactments at an abandoned prison. It's an inventive strategy from director Tirtza Even and the film is beautifully shot. It screens Friday, Monday and Wednesday. Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, April 18, 2014

* "Working Documentary “Natural Life” Brings Experience of Young ‘Lifers’ to Screen", The Chicago Bureau, Nov 20, 2013

* "Documentary Filmmaker Tirtza Even Speaks on Her New Film About Juvenile Incarceration", Vocalo.org, Nov 14, 2013

* Review and featuring of Natural Life during “The Stream”, produced by Omar Baddar, Al Jazeera America, October 28, 2013

* “Art festival had something for everyone”, Kristin Rose, Hamtramck Review, Volume 5 No. 41, October 11, 2013

* Preview of Natural Life at Edwin gallery, Knight Arts, Oct 4, 2013

* “Tamms to Tokyo”, Bad At Sports, Feb 12, 2013

* “Peering Inside”, Fnews Magazine, Nov 20, 2012

* “An Exploration in Three Parts: Prison Past and Present at The Sullivan Galleries”, Bad At Sports, Nov 13, 2012

Free SpiritMedia: Sydney and Tirtza interview Efran via phone, 2014

Free SpiritMedia: Sydney and Tirtza interview Efran via phone, 2014

Discussion guide