Virginia Film Festival

Following three inmates at the city jail in Richmond, Virginia, 16 Bars offers a glimpse at a unique rehabilitation program that provides these men with access to a makeshift recording studio. The inmates unearth painful elements of their pasts as they write and create original music. Through the process of collaborating on an album with Grammy-winning recording artist Todd “Speech” Thomas from the iconic hip-hop group Arrested Development, they begin to move forward with their lives. The music of the film serves as a rare testimony to the messy truth behind the criminal justice system’s revolving door. Discussion with director Sam Bathrick and producer Adam Barton, moderated by subject Sarah Scarbrough

Supported by the Office for Diversity and Equity, and Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights, and Virginia Radio Co-op

This film is part of the Race in America series presented by James Madison’s Montpelier and supported by Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts