Mothers of Bedford

Director: Jenifer McShane
Year: 2011
Running Time: 96 minutes

Synopsis
Women are the fastest-growing U.S. prison population today. Eighty percent are mothers of school-age children. Jenifer McShane’s absorbing documentary gives human dimensions to these rarely reported statistics, taking us inside Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison north of New York City. Mothers of Bedford follows five women of diverse backgrounds and incarcerated for different reasons in dual struggles to be engaged in their children’s lives and become their better selves. It shows how long-term sentences affect mother-child relationships and how Bedford’s innovative Children’s Center helps women maintain and improve bonds with children and adult relatives awaiting their return.

Awards
2011 Hot Docs – Official Selection
2012 Green Mountain Film Festival – Official Selection
2012 Peterborough International Film Festival- Official Selection
2012 Three Rivers Film Festival
2011 Doc NYC Festival – Official Selection
2011 Film Columbia Festival – Official Selection
2013 Seattle Social Justice Film Festival, Director’s Choice Award
2011 Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival – Official Selection