Welcome to Independent Lens.
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of Wisconsin Public Television's
Director's Cut.
Tonight, we look at the lives of three boys,
all of whom are growing up with an incarcerated parent
in the documentary, Tre Maison Dasan .
In 2014, Director Denali Tiller
entered an adult correctional facility to observe
visiting hours between children and their imprisoned fathers.
One child in particular caught Tiller's eye.
He looked confident, hardened and tough.
But when the metal doors opened and he saw his father,
the boy collapsed in his father's arms and cried.
This moment inspired Tiller
to take a closer look at the criminal justice system
and how mass incarceration affects all communities,
in a country where
over 7% of children have a parent behind bars.
The Hollywood Reporter says, "this picture opens our eyes to
a social disruption that has been underexposed
and that we all ignore at our peril."
Tre Maison Dasan
explores separation, masculinity and coming of age
told directly through a child's perspective
and it starts now
on Wisconsin Public Television,
your home for independent film.