All Your Faces
Since 2014, France's restorative justice programmes have offered a safe space for supervised dialogue between offenders and victims. Grégoire, Nawelle, and Sabine, victims of heists and violent robberies, agree to join one of these discussion groups alongside offenders Nassim, Issa, and Thomas, all convicted of violent robberies. Meanwhile Chloé, a victim of childhood sexual abuse, prepares for dialogue with her own agressor after learning he has moved back into town.
Champion
In the supercharged world of dirt track racing, a single mistake causes the lives of two men to change forever. One must fight for his family, the other must fight to forgive.
The Worst Thing
In 1985, Kathleen lost her brother Eddie, an American soldier, at the hands of the Red Army Faction (RAF), a German leftist terrorist organization. Now, decades later, she decides to seek out the group responsible for his murder.
Hollow Water
This documentary profiles the tiny Ojibway community of Hollow Water on the shores of Lake Winnipeg as they deal with an epidemic of sexual abuse in their midst.
Restoring Hope
This often confronting documentary observes a Māori restorative justice model through the eyes of straight-talking Mike Hinton, manager of Restorative Justice at Manukau Urban Māori Authority. The bringing together of victims (including wider whānau) and offenders may offer an alternate way forward for "a criminal justice system failing too many and costing too much”. Restoring Hope kicked off Māori Television’s 2013 season of Sunday night documentaries. In a Herald On Sunday preview, Sarah Lang argued it was “enough to restore hope in local documentary-making.” I’m in an arena where people have high emotions, they get stressed and pressured. I’m reasonably confident that I can avoid situations where I’ll be unsafe. I don’t have any death wish — I’ve got a game of golf tomorrow. – Mike Hinton, on the dangers of the job
Grow a Better Dallas
"Grow a Better Dallas" is a short documentary film showcasing South Dallas' Restorative Farms, a registered non-profit offering restorative justice and urban agriculture solutions to the "food desert" problem in South Dallas. Restorative Farms offers the ability for rehabilitation and therapeutic solutions to individuals with criminal backgrounds to come and contribute as employees to the farm. Restorative Farms was co-founded by Tyrone Day, who was falsely incarcerated for over 26 years.
Another Justice
Leonard is serving a life sentence in a Florida prison for the murders of Patricia and Chris. Agnes—the victims’ mother and grandmother—decided to contact him in the hope it would help her heal from this tragedy and give it meaning. As the law didn’t allow her to meet Leonard, she wrote to him instead. Their exchange led them to join in a mutual fight to promote restorative justice—an alternative stance on justice based on prevention and victim/offender dialog. Their struggle echoes those of others families, bringing us to examine what restorative justice means and the hopes it sparks.
La réparation
In France, victims and perpetrators of offenses, misdemeanors, or crimes can meet and talk in secure, supervised settings. Included in the Penal Code since 2014, this "restorative justice" is intended to complement criminal justice and provide a safe space for dialogue. The aim is to enable victims to rebuild their lives and perpetrators to take full responsibility for their actions, thereby reducing the risk of reoffending. This film follows one such program over the course of a year. Amélie, a prison rehabilitation and probation counselor, and Séverine, a lawyer for a victims' association, prepare Marthe, Aurélien, Sylvain, and JF, who are incarcerated for murder or attempted murder of their spouses. They also follow Emeline, Evelyne, and Marie, victims of similar crimes.