Tehachapi

French street artist JR found worldwide fame with his art, which gives a voice to the oppressed and the overlooked. In 2019, he gained access to one of the world’s most guarded prisons – Tehachapi in California. He chose this institution because it’s where US courts often send young criminals to serve the harshest sentences. Former gang members and murderers have often spent their entire adult life behind bars and never had the chance to put their mistakes behind them. JR works on a multimedia project with selected prisoners in the courtyard that is often the site of bloody fights. He slowly builds personal relationships with several men and follows their trajectories. Viewers are confronted with the frequent prejudices about people who act outside the law.